For the past 10 years morning routines have been a big topic. You see all of these “gurus” preaching that the reason they are happy & “successful” is because they follow a strict (often times extensive) morning routines that set them up to take on the day. But the reality is… They got to a place in their lives where they can have a long morning routine BECAUSE they worked super hard and made sacrifices to get there.
Although it IS true that a morning routine is helpful to establishing a good start to each and every day… That routine does not have to be long and drawn out. Most of the time actually, a short and sweet morning routine is more useful and powerful than a long one.
Imagine waking up in the morning knowing that you have bills to pay and work to get done… But you feel like you cant succeed in that work unless you do your super long morning routine. MADNESS. Stop the madness.
You don’t need to wake up, take a cold shower, meditate for 20 minutes, do a weight training session, followed by a greens shake, followed by a stretch routine, followed by a coffee and reading time, followed by a breakfast… Only to finally after all that… go to work.
The reality is, for majority of people… that “morning routine” will just hold them back and take so much time away from their day. Maybe you have 2 jobs, kids, maybe you’re a part time coach for the kids sports teams, maybe you work full time and go to school after or maybe you have a family member to take care of on top of all that.
You have so much on your mind and so many things to do that just adding a laundry list of “morning routine” tasks to do before you actually start your day will put you over the edge.
Now, with that being said, You SHOULD be trying to be physically & mentally healthy and strong. And in order to be healthy & strong you do need to exercise and eat healthy. So getting a workout in 2-4 days per week along with eating whole healthy foods should be important for your daily life. But that doesn’t mean it all has to be stuffed into a “morning routine”!
This is my current personal morning routine:
- Wake up
- Wash up
- Eat breakfast
- Go to work
Thats it. Why? Because WORK itself is the most important thing in my life at the moment. Which means most of my time and energy needs to be allotted to work itself and not delaying the amount of time I am actually at work.
I personally workout during the day time on a break and I do my reading, writing, relaxing and “biohacking” (cold shower, sauna, stretch & massage) at the end of the day AFTER all of my responsibilities have been accomplished.
Now, this may not work for you… and thats OK! You just have to take a look at your life as it is right now and find out what is most important to you and structure your day according to that metric.
If you know for a fact that you will never be able to get a workout in during the afternoon or in the evening then your morning routine should include a workout first thing in the morning.
If you know for a fact that you are a more pleasant person at work and feel more confident if you shower in the morning versus at night… Then shower in the morning!
If you know for a fact that you perform better when you don’t eat breakfast… Then skip breakfast, grab your coffee and get to work.
For a long time this was my morning routine:
- Wake up
- Wash up
- Drink a bottle of water while my coffee was brewing
- Grab my coffee and head to WORK.
I did that for 2 years straight. And during that time, that simple morning routine… built my business. I was working from 6am in the morning until 9 or 10pm at night. Sometimes straight through 14-15 hours per day. I did not have time to do unnecessary things that would cut into my work time.
And now because I worked to the bone for 2 years straight… I have more time on my hands. I was able to free up my schedule and still make the same amount of money and more some. And because I have MORE time… I added breakfast!
The reality is, is that sometimes in life there is no such thing as “work-life-balance”. Why? Because some things in life, at certain times, need 80-100% of your time and effort. So if you’re in a position where you don’t have a lot of free time and you can’t afford anymore responsibilities… Then simplify your morning routine ASAP.
There are minor things and major things included in being healthy, happy and a high performer in life. Most people think that they need to add in a hundred different “health hacks” to be healthy and its just not true at all.
I’ve trained hundreds and hundreds of people throughout my personal training career. And the people I’ve worked with who have had the most success in their careers and their health are the people who stick to the basics of health & fitness and never stray off that path for a long period of time.
Minor things would include: cold shower, greens shakes, gratitude journal, meditation, etc.
Major things would include: exercising 2-4 days per week, eating a whole healthy foods diet, getting decent sleep and performing well at work.
If your morning routine is taking away from those major player of health above… Its not a good moring routine!
Be honest with yourself, structure your day according to your present life circumstances and get to work on the more important and basic pillars of health! Everything else is icing on the cake.
Get strong & stay strong my friend,
-Trainer Sam
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