<\/p>\n
Morning is a sacred time for me. When our kids were still living with us, morning was the only time I had totally to myself. It allowed me to get the day started on my terms, set the tempo for the rest of the day. The kids are out on their own now, it\u2019s just me and my wife, but the morning remains crucial to the rest of the day.\u00a0Every morning is a blank slate. Every morning you get to start over, the promise and potential of the near future filled to bursting.<\/p>\n
And so my early morning routine is the foundation of my day. Without it, the day just doesn\u2019t \u201ctake.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you want to be \u201cagile\u201d and \u201cintuitive\u201d in your life, a morning routine helps. You need the foundation from which to leverage your talents and express your intuition and dynamic capacity. If your mornings are slapdash and all over the place, you\u2019ll have trouble venturing out into the world and conquering your goals. A child needs security to grow. You need a morning routine to excel.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s my early morning routine.<\/p>\n
Go to bed between 10 and 11.<\/h2>\n
A morning routine starts with your nighttime routine. As I\u2019ve said many times before, getting to bed at a good time\u2014around 10, but no later than 11\u2014while maintaining proper sleep hygiene practices so that you get enough sleep and wake up with energy and vitality is\u00a0essential<\/em> for a good morning. So your morning routine begins the night before. You have to get a good night\u2019s sleep if your early morning routine is going to help you.<\/p>\n I wake up around the same time every day\u2014mostly because I\u2019m so religious about getting to bed at a good time. Seven o\u2019clock is my typical wake up time. This allows me to get to bed between 10 and 11 and still get all the sleep I need. I\u2019m in bed by 10, and usually earlier, but I\u2019ll read in bed. Sometimes I go out fast, other times I stay up and keep reading. A 7 AM wakeup gives me breathing room at night.<\/p>\n Waking up at the same time every day is essential. For one, you don\u2019t need an alarm. You just wake up because your body knows, and it\u2019s much easier this way. Two, waking up is the start of your routine. Everything hinges on wakeup occurring at the same time. If you wake up at 5 one day and 8:30 another, it\u2019s difficult to plan any kind of consistent morning routine.<\/p>\n Sun exposure early in the morning\u2014sunrise, ideally\u2014helps your circadian rhythm hew to the rhythm of the day. It \u201ctells\u201d your internal clocks that it\u2019s morning, that it\u2019s time to get moving, that it\u2019s time to build and go<\/em>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always made it a point in my adult life to live in places that get ample sunlight year round. Earlier in my health journey, this wasn\u2019t a conscious decision. I didn\u2019t know about the intricacies of circadian rhythm and natural light exposure, but I knew I liked sunlight, liked being warm, and liked spending time outside. So before I even knew what it was doing for my health, I was getting sunlight every single morning.<\/p>\n This doesn\u2019t mean stare into the sun. Don\u2019t do that. It means be outside with your face directed toward the sun, indirect light piercing your eyes and acting as a circadian zeitgeber that sets your clock. Also, you don\u2019t have to have visible sunlight. The clouds can be out. It can be raining or even snowing, and the sunlight will still get through to your circadian clock. The point is getting outside to get full natural light.<\/p>\n Then I brew my coffee. Always in a stainless steel French press using fresh ground beans, always with heavy cream and a spoonful of sugar. Yes, plain white sugar, to cut the bitterness. Often I\u2019ll take my coffee outside in the sunlight.<\/p>\n Although the science on \u201ctraining the brain\u201d with crossword puzzles and math games like sudoku is inconclusive, I don\u2019t care. I notice a big difference when I do the games and when I don\u2019t. There\u2019s something missing when I don\u2019t do it. A fluidity, a sharpness of thought. My writing and creativity are all worse on days I don\u2019t get to the puzzles.<\/p>\n I also read the paper. Yes, the physical newspaper made of paper. Everything about the newspaper experience\u2014the crinkle, the way you have to *pop* it to straighten it out\u2014is soothing and it\u2019s still my favorite medium to read the news. \u201cDon\u2019t believe everything you read\u201d goes without saying, of course. I consider this an essential part of my morning routine.<\/p>\n The latest addition to my morning routine is a friend and I started a competition about six months ago. We do it every day. Every morning, we play the word games World, Quordle, and Sedecordle.<\/p>\n We do all three each day and score them to see who gets the lowest score. The base score is arrived at by adding up the numbers in Quordle. Then, you get to subtract or add points based on your scores in Sedecordle and Wordle. In Wordle, you subtract however many guesses you have left. So, one point for every guess remaining. With Sedecordle you get to subtract three points for every guess remaining, or you add one point back for every word left on the board. You have to understand the games, but it is pretty challenging.<\/p>\n At this point in my life, it is counterproductive to compete on a physical level with anything significant at stake. This is the new challenge. This is the new competition. It\u2019s a great way to begin the day.<\/p>\n Most days, I fast til 1 PM (after my late morning workout). On days I don\u2019t fast, I\u2019ll have something light. Lately it\u2019s been soft boiled eggs or scrambled eggs with kale in butter. I eat breakfast if I\u2019m hungry and feel like eating, usually while doing the mental games. I fast if I\u2019m going deep into work mode and really trying to hit flow state.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll do the nuts and bolts stuff for a half hour to an hour: answering emails, taking or making calls, checking social media to see if I need to respond to anything. These are things that don\u2019t take much active brainpower. You simply have to \u201cdo them.\u201d \u00a0I\u2019ll often do a quick scan of Twitter or Instagram to get a \u201cbird\u2019s eye view\u201d of what might be transpiring in the world, what people are worried about, what fitness or nutrition developments are coming to a head.<\/p>\n Getting these easy wins out of the way sets a good tone for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n After emails and calls, I step outside for a quick movement break. This is to get the blood flowing to the brain, warm up my body, lubricate my joints, and prepare for the real work to come.<\/p>\n The point is to get some light physical movement, preferably outside, before the real mental work commences.<\/p>\n When I write articles, I\u2019ve already done the research the day before or days previous. I have a mental skeleton of the post erected in my mind, with tabs and links open to all the supporting evidence, so all I have to do is write. Flesh it out. Thus, it becomes an exercise in creativity that I can flow through, rather than having to stop every five minutes to check my work and read studies. Of course, if the situation calls for it I\u2019ll stop and read research, but I do my best to avoid that so I can focus on the writing itself.<\/p>\n If I don\u2019t have to write any finished pieces, I may go for a walk with my phone and bang out a rough draft using voice to text. Voice to text is invaluable for me\u2014great way to jot down thoughts and ideas, which walking often stimulates. I\u2019ve \u201cwritten\u201d entire posts and Sundays with Sisson newsletters on walks. I\u2019ve come up with business ideas that turned into business realities. I keep working as long as it keeps flowing. It might be two hours. Might be one. Might be four. But it usually lasts at least two hours.<\/p>\n Usually I\u2019ll go to the gym, both for training and socializing. Get a quick, hard, efficient 30-45 minute strength training session, hang out with the regulars, banter a bit, catch up. It\u2019s a good atmosphere to push yourself while keeping things light and fun. I\u2019m not doing any PRs (personal records) at this point. I\u2019m just getting in to hit my muscles, strengthen my bones, and gird my connective tissue so I can keep playing and staying active doing the things I truly enjoy. Anti-aging.<\/p>\n The social aspect is just as important as the physical aspect. I spend so much time on devices that I need that face time (not<\/em> FaceTime).<\/p>\n If I don\u2019t go to the gym, I\u2019ll go for a paddling session or hit the fat tire bike on the beach. I\u2019ll often do this with my wife or a buddy, again getting that social time. Whatever I do, the block of time after my deep work time is for staying active\u2014both physically and socially.<\/p>\n After that, I break the (usual) fast with lunch and get on with the rest of my day, which often looks very different day to day. But that AM morning routine leading up to lunch is non-negotiable and rarely changes.<\/p>\n What does your early morning routine look like?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\nWake up at around 7.<\/h2>\n
Get sun in my eyes.<\/h2>\n
Have coffee, heavy cream, and a spoonful of sugar.<\/h2>\n
Do Sudoku, the NY Times crossword, and read the paper.<\/h2>\n
Engage in a little friendly competition.<\/h2>\n
Eat breakfast, or not.<\/h2>\n
Get \u201ceasy\u201d work wins.<\/h2>\n
Take a 15 minute movement break.<\/h2>\n
\n
Deep creative work.<\/h2>\n
Movement, training, and play.<\/h2>\n
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