How to accomplish twice as much per week by having outstanding morning rituals!

It is crucial to have outstanding morning rituals as they will set your spirit for the whole day! By creating this habit you will have accomplished more things before breakfast than most people do before lunch!

There are many great articles written on the topic of morning routines and all the benefits that follow. I have created my own by using inspiration from other successful people and I would recommend you to do the same. Hopefully this post will work as a great source of inspiration.

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Why you have to do it!

Within the first 30 minutes of getting up in the morning you are more or less determining the mood you will be in for the rest of the day! You don’t want leave that to chance! We have all had some days when everything seems to go wrong, morning routines and great habits will make sure it doesn’t happen again, ever!

Another important aspect of morning routines is that they are yours and you decide what you want to get done, when and in what order. It might be the only time of the day when you have full control. You can use it for anything you want but I urge you to make sure you use it wisely to get the most out of that time.

By starting early (from 04:00 – 06:00) you will for sure have time for the things that are truly important to you because you will do them before the rest of your family (or friends) even get out of bed! I know you might find this too early but as with anything, if you really want to reach your goals and make time for it, this might be that time which will change your life forever!

Just start going to bed earlier. How much do you actually get done after 21:00? Not much I would guess and now you have a great reason to go to bed early. It will take a few nights before you are on “schedule” but as long as your reasons for wanting to reach your goals are strong enough, I am confident you will do it and create this amazing habit.

When you start your day early, your brain is not clogged with a lot of information, thoughts and decisions you have to make etc. It’s more like a clean sheet for you to start with every morning and YOU decide what to write! By creating this daily habit (yes it will soon run on autopilot), you will have 1 – 2 hours “extra” for making important decisions, reflection, taking ACTION and that will make a massive difference in your life!

If you think about it, it actually sums up to 14h per week which are two extra working days. Time dedicated to take you and your family’s life to the next level and where you focus 100% on YOUR goals (if you have not set them yet, you better get started right away, check out our Visions & Goals Section). Based on the structure and efficiency of your morning, you will probably accomplish more during those 14 hours than most people do in a WEEK!!!

Before jumping to my personal routines I would first urge you to start your journey by setting your goals and dreams by clicking on the above link so that you know exactly what you want! I would then recommend you to read this post on habits of the successful. If your goals in different areas of your life are clear, you will have no problem getting up in the morning to make sure that they will happen. I will of course be here to support you all the way!

Ok, so let’s have a look at my morning routines!

My morning rituals

Before I tell you when I get up in the morning you should know… I go to bed early to get up early! That means that I am normally in bed and asleep before 22:00. Sleep is very important for our health and between the hours of 22:00 – 02:00 you get the best quality sleep as this is when the body cleanses our major organs. That is one of the major reasons why I always try to get to bed before 22:00. For more info on sleep essentials check out this post How to prepare for a great night’s sleep – routines!

Watching TV late in the evening is not very stimulating for your brain, nor productive and you will most likely just be more tired in the morning. The light from the TV will also mess up your sleep cycle and definitely not help you get to sleep faster… Let’s be honest, most of us are not very productive after 21:00, so why waste that time and end up tired and cranky in the morning when you can just go to bed earlier and enable you to have a great start of your day, every day?!?!

Today I got up at 05:30, and no, I don’t need an alarm clock to wake me up! It’s just a great habit that I have got used to and so can you! You should start with a time that feels ok for you, so maybe just one hour earlier than you normally get up would be a good start. Normally a routine or a habit will take about 30 days to form so you have to stay focused and disciplined for 30 days (a great way to do this is to find an accountability partner)!

What I do and in chronological order:

Good morning kiss – the first attention of the day goes to my amazing girlfriend before getting out of bed 🙂
Neck massage – I give myself a quick massage in case I feel a bit stiff (happens when travelling).
A big glass of water with some squeezed lemon and/or apple cider vinegar (I sometimes also take a glass of water with honey and apple cider vinegar in the evening as I find it improves my sleep).
Deep breathing (meditation) via my nose and all the way down to my belly in a relaxed pace, keeping my mind clear and just a big grin on my face 🙂
Gratitude: I write in my gratitude journal and then I choose a few things to put extra emotional attention to. It can be big and it can be small, it doesn’t matter but it is truly a great way to start my day.
Vision board: I stand in front of my vision board for a few minutes, closing my eyes to see (visualize) me already being and doing those things and experiencing the feeling of already having reached those goals. It’s extremely important that you get to the point where you can actually feel that exact feeling as if it was already your reality! If you don’t have a vision board on your wall, create one asap, just click here!
Exercise: I do a short exercise routine (then normally a full session later during the day) to get my body pumping and blood circulation going to improve my physical and emotional state. Today it consisted of just 20 burpees and 200 abdominal repetitions (beach challenge) and I can feel my pulse increasing dramatically. Sometimes I add some push-ups or use my elastic rubber band for bicep curls.
Journaling – I just write whatever I have on my mind just to get it out and down on paper and if I have something I have been thinking about, it’s great to get it out. I sometimes ask myself a question and then just write down the response that naturally just comes to me and my pen. By doing this, I actually know what I need to focus on and since I have had this time for myself, I have had time to think of what is important to me (and my family). I also know what I need to do today to move things forward. For more on this topic check out this post why you should have a journal.
Daily Focus – After having written down what I am grateful for in my gratitude journal (left page), I use the right side for my daily focus list. Those are the things that must be done today to make sure I make progress towards my goals and am in control of my day! This point is done in conjunction with my goals sheet. I basically merge what I have there with anything new that has come up during the day before and I also transfer anything which might not have been taken care of. By now, I know exactly what I will be focusing on today! For more info on this setup, check out my post on Daily Focus routine. Normally I would write my daily focus list the night before to get it out of my mind and then maybe complement it in the morning if if needed.
Learning OR Action Time! Depending on what my agenda looks like for the day, I either use 20-60 minutes to study something (best to do with a clean slate early in the morning) or to take massive action! I know I have 20-60 minutes to use how I please and no one will disturb me so I can focus on the most important things. If you have limited amount of time during the day, I would recommend you use this time to do as many things as possible of what you wrote down on point 9. If you can make them all happen, that would be amazing because that is more than most people get done before lunch and it will make you feel great, which it should!!
Ice-cold shower + Personal Affirmations Taking an ice-cold shower is great for both body and mind and I do it every day. The voice in my mind still tells me that it is cold, don’t do it, you are going to freeze etc…. I don’t give a fck! I am the boss and not the voice in my mind. This little exercise is great to train yourself and your monkey mind who is boss! My monkey mind can say whatever it wants, I am still the boss and my body will do exactly what I tell myself to do. I will never let any mind chatter control my life and neither should you! When I am in the shower I do my personal affirmations as I find it a great way to use autosuggestion to get our subconscious mind to work for us. Check out these posts for additional reading on mindset: Creating a winning mindset, Control your monkey mind.

Done! That’s how you get a head start!!

This routine takes me 5-120 minutes depending on whether there is something specific I feel I want to spend more time on and what my agenda looks like for the day. I always try to listen to my heart and mind when prioritizing. That means that if I want, I can do my morning routine in approximately 5 minutes and then spend 115 minutes on the most important task I want to get done, like finishing this post :).

I then have a healthy breakfast often including a bullet proof coffee. If I am alone, that is NET so I use it accordingly to listen to something motivational which gets me even more hungry to get on with my day. Check out my post on NET (No Extra Time)!

Let me now ask you a question, “what did you get done before breakfast today”??

Not much…? That never has to be the case again, but it is totally up to you!

Your simple steps to get going:

Buy a gratitude journal
Look at my list for inspiration and write yours down at the back of your notebook. It will take a few weeks to have your routine clear in your mind so it’s good to have it written down in the beginning.
Set you alarm clock for tomorrow and place it far away from your bed so you have to get up (great trick).
You will now have guaranteed time on your own to do what you truly want and focus on what is most important to you!

Remember: If you always do what you have always done, you’ll always get what you have always gotten! It’s time for change!

I have truly enjoyed this post. Just by writing down what I do, reminds me of how much I get done before more people are even out of bed. I freaking rock (and so will you)!