My Current Morning Routine

Winning the day's first battle sets you up for what's to come.

You gain the momentum needed for meetings and deep work later on.

As someone who works a 9–5 but also creates content and is part of an online coaching business, my time is limited in the morning. I want this time to be effective and constructive.

I decided to change my routine and see what, if any, difference would happen.

The Before Routine

Building a successful morning routine starts by asking yourself two questions:

How much time do I have?
What realistically needs to be done during this time?

This avoids following the outrageous routines of people getting up before 5 am and having 3-hour routines.

For those with a job, kids and other responsibilities, this isn’t possible.

My previous routine went like this:

5:45 am — Wake Up, Hydrate, Get Dressed
6:00 am — Drive to the gym
6:30 am — Workout or run
8:00 am — Go to work
8:15 am — Start Work

Honestly, it worked really well.

In terms of my fitness goals, the above propelled me towards them and served as the daily actions required.

I took running marathons seriously so I had to treat them with serious intent.

This morning routine was optimised for training and performance come race day.

The New Routine

Evaluating my life after a holiday lead me to decide I wanted to include meditation in the mornings.

If I left this to after work, it simply wasn’t getting the attention it deserved. Sometimes I didn’t even do it at all.

Furthermore, journaling has been a part of my life for 3.5 years but in the last 6 months, like meditation, it had slipped further and further down my priority list to the point where it was only happening sporadically.

This resulted in my new routine looking like so:

5:30 am — Wake Up, Hydrate, Get Dressed
5:40 am — 10–15 minutes of meditation
6:00 am — Drive to the gym
6:30 am — Workout or run
8:00 am — Go to work
8:15 am — One page in my journal
8:20 am — Start Work

Not much has changed. This is by design.

What I had before was working well so there was no need to drastically overhaul my routine.

I still want to work out in the morning and getting up 15 minutes earlier is achievable by having a set bedtime each night.

My new routine is optimised for feeling good while training, my mind and overall productivity.

On weekdays when I don't workout, the only change is getting up at 6.30 am rather than 5.30 am.

At weekends, my wake up time is determined by the plans I have for that day but I'm usually up around 7am.

The Results

According to the best-selling author on habits James Clear, it takes 66 days to build a habit.

I’m about two-thirds of the way through.

Meditation is about being present in each moment. I’ve noticed myself feeling calmer throughout the day and also noticing smaller things like my breath when sitting at my desk.

As for journaling, it allows me to get a stream of consciousness on the page before I start work and shift my focus to that.

It’s also a perfect time to get any worries, thoughts and feelings written down rather than carrying them about with me.

The key is to use statement beginning with "I feel..." or "I think...".

In Summary

Your morning routine is about winning the first battle of the day.
You have to be realistic about the time you have and what can be done.
My previous routine worked but I wanted to optimise for a new goal.
I’m assessing the effectiveness as I proceed (spoiler: I'm enjoying it!)

These things take time.

You aren’t instantly going to know what works best.

The only way to do so is by trial and error and a dose of patience. With each iteration, you’ll gain valuable knowledge about what works best for you.

Enjoy each morning whatever it brings!

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