Searching for a perfect morning routine

"If only I had the perfect morning routine," I often think, "then I would [do that thing which I haven't/can't]". I know, it's not as simple as that, and while getting a good start in the morning is a good thing to aim for, It isn't a cure all for all my productivity woes.

And yet, there's so much literature on the benefit of starting the day right as well as my own personal experience that I can't quite give up on the idea of creating the one true morning routine.

The value of a "miracle morning"

Hal Elrond, in his book "the miracle morning" describe the six common practices that most top professionals employ.

1. silence,
2. affirmations,
3. visualization,
4. exercise,
5. reading,
6. and writing

most of these have obvious benefits. Silence allows our subconscious to show us insights we might miss; affirmation and visualization can help us act in the way we aspire to; exercise helps to boost our immunity and helps wake up; reading helps us learn and grow; and writing helps us to surface ideas and provides material to share.

For the Christian, we might add (or amend) prayer and Bible reading.  

Hal isn't the only writer to have described the benefits of a good start to the day. Donald Miller, is his book Business Made Simple describes how we have more willpower at the start of the day and less demands placed on us, making it a great time to address the most important tasks (although he admits some people may have more opportunities in the evening).

Considering the wealth of evidence in support of treating the morning time as a prime opportunity, it makes sense to at least attempt to take advantage of this time. There are, however, risks with focusing on the right morning routine.  

Giving up early

When I first wake, I need some time to get my bearings and stop the routine systems from running. My entrenched habits and basic needs kick in before my brain can catch up.

There's value in that, I often grab a glass of water without even thinking, but there's a cost too. Instead of kicking off a "productive morning routine", I may unexpectedly find myself scrolling through Facebook or emails. If my daughter wakes early, then I know that any hope of a "good start" is gone.

At this point, I usually feel like giving up.

The day is now wasted. I might as well accept this as an unproductive day. After all, I didn't do any of the things high-performers are supposed to do.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Being a Usain Bolt of productivity

Usain Bolt was the fastest man alive for a long time. But, despite his amazing achievements in the 100m sprint, he was terrible at starting.

Admittedly he improved during his career but if you look at many of his races, all his competitors would start far better, only for Usain to suddenly emerge from the back of the pack.

Some sprinters might give up after such a bad start, but not Usain. He knew that he could rectify it.

That's how I aspire to be with my days. Even if the day starts "wrong" I don't have to give up. I can rectify it later. I can sprint later, even if my start wasn't optimal. One small way to do this is planning backup times for certain activities, but the mental attitude is far more important than the specific actions.

By not writing a day off, there is still the possibility that it will turn around.

My new routine?

Instead of trying to do everything, I have a simple list of activities that I can move to different points of the day if I need to. They include.

• read the Bible
• write article from idea on notepad
• drink coffee
• light exercise

If I can't read the Bible first thing, I can read it during my lunch break (or the occasional commute I still take). If I can't write an article first thing, there's a change when my daughter is napping. And a break to do some pushups, light jogging or a walk is a welcome relief for my wrists.

Coffee is the only one which is almost guaranteed no matter what.

It's not the perfect morning routine, but it's an improvement and removing the guilt of "failure" has helped me the most.