The Power of Your Morning and How to Optimise It
Getting the most out of your waking hours
Before you click out of this article thinking it might be yet another exhortation to wake up at 5am, just give me a few minutes. I promise I won’t berate you into losing an extra 2 hours or so for no good reason.
The older I get, the more I realise how important my early waking ours are. Not simply as a means to improve my productivity, but genuinely to improve my quality of life and happiness across the course of the day. I want to have good days, and good days don’t always simply happen - you’ve also got to make them happen.
Over the past 4 years or so, I’ve experimented incessantly with my morning routine. I’ve woken up at 4am, and woken up at 8am. I’ve tried all sorts of supplements professing to help improve my clarity, and I’ve done all kinds of questionable exercise routines in the name of getting my endorphins running. Now, amidst all my craziness, I’ve found a happy medium. I’ve found a morning routine which helps me feel energised, productive, and most important of all?
Happy.
It feels so trivial to talk about happiness these days, particularly as it feels as though happiness is becoming increasingly unattainable. Like some kind of privilege amidst such doom and gloom in the world. Aside from the various scientific-backed benefits of having a morning routine, if you’re actively looking to bring some sunshine back into your life every day, here are some simple ways you can do just that.
Key Summary (TL/DR):
The art of the selfish morning
Setting your priorities
You have to move, baby
Hydration, hydration
The art of the selfish morning
The best morning routines are selfish.
Now, not everyone has the privilege to be totally selfish. You may have extremely early work priorities, caring responsibilities, children, and so on and so forth. But if you can afford to spend an extra 5-60 minutes of alone time in the morning, it can radically transform your day.
I typically wake up at 6.30am (by choice and quite naturally - no alarm) and start work remotely at 9.30am. That gives me a 3 hour window of time before I need to be switched on and ready for my 9-5, after which I’ll work on my business and content creation.
During the first 30 minutes, I intentionally spend time meditating, expressing gratitude, praying and writing. My phone notifications are switched off until 9am, and I find having the first 30 minutes in isolation gives me the necessary opportunity to orient myself. I may have some strong emotions or feelings that need to be processed from the day before, or I may just need the time to set my perspective and mindset throughout the day.
Morning meditations are proven to provide you with a calming start to your day. In a world where we are bombarded with responsibilities and the noise of everyday life, stealing a few moments of ‘me’ time in the morning might be more crucial than you might initially think.
Setting your priorities
Discomfort and anxiety can arise when you don’t know what you’re doing, or what needs doing. I certainly hate stepping into my day without a plan of action.
Every morning, I make it a habit to spend at least 5-10 minutes noting down a to-do list, and then noting down my top three priorities. Sometimes, writing down your to-do list can be super overwhelming when it feels like you have so much to do. However, being intentional enough to write down your top three priorities assigns a level of importance to specific actions, and means that you feel less overburdened and more accomplished, when you’re able to make things happen.
Ask yourself every morning - what are three things that you absolutely need to get done during the day?
You have to move, baby
I’m not suggesting you sign up to be a cross-fitter (although, if it’s something you genuinely enjoy, I’d definitely say go for it!)
The holistic mental, emotional and physical benefits of exercise are well-known, and exercise in the morning can help you reap these benefits from the beginning of your day. The rush of endorphins, the mental clarity, the stretching out of your joints, and the movement of your muscle, can all contribute to an excellent morning routine.
I personally really enjoy strength training or running in the morning. For you, it might be boxing, bike-riding, walking, or home workouts. Whatever it may be, as long as it gets you active and happy for a short while in the morning, do it.
Hydration, hydration
Put aside the coffee. Drop the green juice. Oh, and bin the apple cider vinegar shots.
Okay I’m kidding (not on the apple cider vinegar shots though - I personally can’t stand it.) Before you think of putting any other substance or supplement into your body, don’t forget to have water.
This absolutely changed my life. Every morning, without fail, I try to drink at least 500ml of water when waking up. It’s like turning on my internal batteries. Especially when your body has been in a state of recovery, without access to external hydration over the course of your sleep cycle, it is necessary to hydrate as soon as you wake up. It replenishes lost liquid, can help support with calorie intake throughout the day, and improves skin health and mental clarity.
It’s pretty simple, and yet so effective - grab 2-3 glasses of H20, every morning.
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That’s all from me this week folks. As ever, if you found this useful, feel free to share Optimise Me with a friend.
Let’s all become better humans.
-RK
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