I have found that waking early truly leaves more time in the day to be productive. Having a set routine that you follow daily has so many benefits including giving you more energy, strength, and mindfulness. I am in the process of creating the strongest morning routine for myself, but it has been quite a journey to do so. A lot of trial and error can be involved to find out what truly works for you. If one thing isn’t right, don’t give up, just try something different. That is one of the greatest things about mankind, is that we are all different and there is no one set thing that will work for everyone. This is what my morning routine is turning out to be:

Upon waking around 6 AM, I do a journal entry for about 15 minutes about goals for the day, or just whatever is on my mind. Clearing my head is a fantastic way to start the day, relieving any residual stress, tensions, or frustrations from the previous day (or lingering feelings from subconscious thought). Journaling allows me to focus on my calm center. I like to write down 3-5 things that I am grateful for daily and what I would like to accomplish throughout the day. This helps to visualize the course of action that I need to take in order to get everything done.

Next comes reading. Reading is vital to mental health. Just 30-45 minutes every day can help immensely with bettering oneself and working towards goals. Take what you want to work toward and focus on books correlating to that subject. Consider yourself successful if you learned something. Don’t focus on speed; focus on learning.

Third is exercise. Exercise is vital to both physical and mental health and doing a little bit daily is a fantastic way to boost energy. Focusing on cardio will help boost your metabolism and revitalize you.

Next comes reconnecting with nature and yourself. Taking a walk in the morning or practicing meditation are both endlessly beneficial to your well-being. As I run my own company, work for me starts at 8. This next step is so vital to the success of my company. For one hour, I focus on a single company-related task (not pertaining to my clients, unless an emergency). I try to attempt this with a no technology and distraction-free zone. I have 2 wonderful kids, so quite often distraction-free is impossible. I am classified as an OBM and EAA, so technology free is quite impossible sometimes as well, but I try. That’s all you can do is try, right?