Our Rise Bar Influencers share a bit about their morning routine and how it can set you up for success.
How you spend the first hour of your day can determine your life.
When you look at world-class athletes, top performers, and business executives and analyze the tools they use and what they attribute to their success, they all have one thing in common: a successful morning routine.
Time and time again we hear about executives who wake up at 4:30am to get their workouts in. Or maybe they just spend that time thinking. If you’ve read Tim Ferriss’ most recent book, Tools of Titans, you may have already noticed this pattern. In a large portion of the interviews throughout the book you will see a lot of the successful entrepreneurs and icons all have a very specific morning ritual and how they start their day.You have this same choice. We all do. We don’t have to be a celebrity, athlete, or executive to do it. We just need to have the driving desire to be better.
Every single morning you have the chance to ask yourself, how do i choose to rise?
Our founder Pete Spenuzza has a specific way he starts his day. Every morning he wakes up, writes in a journal, and goes on a 10 minute jog. “Doing this sets the tone for the day,” Pete says.
Your goals for the morning don’t have to be complex. It could be as easy with starting by allowing yourself an extra hour in the morning 2-3 times per week. Use this time to gather your thoughts and set your goals for what you want to accomplish in the day. Take advantage of the quiet time and the stillness of the morning before your inbox starts buzzing with activity and you begin to hear the sounds of the cars on the road. If you have physical fitness goals, the early morning hours are a great opportunity to get those goals accomplished. Some people spend their mornings training for marathons, triathlons, and other endurance events. They are done with their training by the time most of us are just waking up and getting started with our day.
We wanted to reach out to our Rise Bar community and ask those who influence use what their morning routines look like. You will notice they all have morning routines that involve movement, (stretching or a workout) as well drinking water, coffee, or tea, and writing in a journal. Outside of these common themes, here is additional information on what they had to say.
Never Hit the Snooze Button
“I am a firm believer that your morning sets the tone for the rest of your day. Being a personal trainer, my day starts very early and there are a few things I love to do to get in the right mindset to best help my clients that day. First, I never hit the snooze button. I make sure I am up as soon as my alarm goes off so that my morning isn’t rushed and most importantly, I am not late for my client (being late is my biggest pet peeve). As soon as I am up, I drink 8 ounces of water and put on my favorite podcast or motivational speaker as I get ready for work. Once I make it to work, I do 5 - 10 minutes of stretching before my client arrives. I find that these actions give me the mental and physical boost I need to make it a great day!” -Jeff Morgan, @IAmJeffMorgan
Keep It Simple
“I’m not a morning person, so it takes some work to get me moving. As soon as I wake up, I make myself brush my teeth and wash my face with cool water. As tired as I am, this simple habit energizes me quickly and makes the rest of the morning routine a breeze.” -Jen Hansard, @SimpleGreenSmoothies
Be Mindful and Get Moving
“The time I take in the early mornings is so sacred and special to me, and the routine I’ve developed helps me set the tone for a positive and productive day! I love to take an hour for myself to do some form of movement, whether it be a run, a HIIT workout, some strength training, or yoga. I enjoy waking up early enough to have time to slowly enjoy my breakfast and coffee while writing in my gratitude journal.” -Leanne, @leanneliveshealthy
Stretch
“I love to wake up early (around 5-6 am) and do a little bit of stretching right away. I feel like it really helps me to wake up and makes me feel more energized for the rest of the day. Then I drink a cup of coffee or herbal tea and head to the gym!”
- Katie, @krbercumefit
Visualize The Day Ahead
“When I spend time at night to visualize my day ahead it allows me to have a game plan and not overwhelm myself with my endless to do list. As soon as I wake up I open my morning devotional and read for about 15 minutes and I finish with a prayer. When I get to start my day with God I feel in peace all day, this makes it hard to feel stressed or overwhelmed. I always have some hot tea with lemon and a light breakfast to start my day and get ready to go to the gym at 5am to train my clients and get my workout in.” - Marcela Freeman, @marcelafreeman
Eat Breakfast
“I actually have always struggled with being a morning person in my life, until I started incorporating a morning routine that I get really excited for. My morning always starts with some stretching for five to ten minutes with some breathing exercises (it really helps give me that refreshed feeling to start the day). After stretching, I immediately pour a huge glass of water to drink and make a huge breakfast because I am so hungry in the morning, haha! I then do some writing in my agenda to see what I am going to be intentional about doing for that day (essentially getting my mindset all ready to go!). This simple routine has really helped me in my life!” -Alayna Flannery, @alaynaflan
Overall
Even if you are not a morning person, the simple steps you can take to add up more mindfulness into your day can yield tremendous benefits over time. When writer Haruki Murakami is in writing mode he wakes up at 4am, works for five to six hours, and then works out in the afternoon. Bulletproof Coffee founder Dave Asprey leaves his phone on airplane mode every morning until he drops his kids off at school so he can stay fully present. Think of what’s important to you, what you are doing, and where you want to go, and then set morning routines and goals that will help you achieve them.
As always, we are here to help you rise above in whatever you do in life.
Let’s rise together and make our morning routine one that we all cherish and look forward to each day.
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/bulletproof-coffee-dave-asprey-morning-routine-2017-4
http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/daily_routines/2007/07/haruki-murakami.html
