How does your typical day begin? If you are like most people, it starts with you picking up your smartphone as soon as you wake up. You start looking at emails and text messages that have come in while you slept. And as you start reading those emails and texts, you begin to think about all the problems you are going to face that day. Budget cuts, personnel issues, your boss being upset about something, slipping sales numbers, and the list goes on.
And as you mull over these things, you’ve just guaranteed yourself a lousy day. Your stomach is tied up in knots before you have that first cup of coffee and rush out the door to your car to deal with a busy day. Sounds great, right?
Yeah, didn’t think so either.
New Habits
However, that is the way many people, including some leaders, wake up every morning. It is a recipe for disaster. If you study the habits of top leaders worldwide, whether they are business leaders or government officials, most, if not all, start their day strategically. They have morning routines that give them a fighting chance to tackle the day's problems and achieve success. These leaders know that a proper mindset is the key to winning the morning and, therefore, the day. Leaders like these don’t start their day by filling their minds with all kinds of information that will give them headaches. They arm themselves with the daily habits that will help them win the fight. Over the past few years, I have studied such habits from successful leaders and developed my routine to tackle the day.
Even in retirement, I still have challenges to deal with daily and the routine I am about to discuss with you has given me an edge to win the day.
This is my daily routine.
Number 1 - No phone emails/texts for the first hour after you wake up
This is non-negotiable.
I refrain from checking my phone for emails, texts, and voicemails for the first hour after waking up. I want my mind to be clear and focused on me. My mental, spiritual and physical health. Nothing else in that first hour matters. Unless we are talking about World War III breaking out, any other emergency can wait for an hour. If I look at my phone, it is to open a mindfulness or fitness/health app. That’s it. You may have the urge to check your emails and texts but resist that urge. Without your ability to do this, everything else I am going to tell you will be useless. Put the phone down or put it in another room. This also includes not turning on the television to get the latest dose of bad news from around the world. As with your emails and texts, that bad news will still be there an hour from now, posted as “Breaking News” in the next news show.
Number 2 – Get some Mindfulness time and water
I will start the day off with prayer first. Thanking God for another day of life and being grateful for my health, family, friends, and all that I have. Starting your day off with thankfulness puts your mind and spirit in a positive state of being. Psychologically, it is a boost to your mental state. I follow this up by listening to podcasts on stoicism, faith, and winning mindsets, among others, while brushing my teeth and shaving. Once again, I am filling my mind and spirit with positive thoughts.
I also drink two cups of water. Your body is dehydrated during sleep. Getting some water in your system helps to wake it up.
Then I go out for 5-10 minutes of sunshine. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University. He talks a lot about the value of getting morning sun into your eyes. The morning sun helps regulate your circadian rhythms, which enables your body to know when to sleep and when to wake up. So, I make sure to get morning sunshine into my eyes (without looking directly at the sun, of course) to get my circadian rhythm right.
I then start my meditation time. I wear an Oura ring, which tracks the quality of my sleep, blood oxygen levels, and other metrics. The Oura app features a section where you can access guided meditations. That, plus an app called Headspace, provides me with dozens of guided meditations. The meditation time doesn’t have to be long. I usually do two five-minute guided meditations every morning. This helps calm me down, and many of these meditations incorporate breathing elements, which are particularly beneficial for stressful situations. I finish the meditation time with a renewed sense of peace.
Number 3 – Physical Exercise
My wife and I exercise at a local studio four days a week. But in the morning, after my meditation time, I do a quick set of calisthenics to get the blood circulating. I have already taken care of my mind and spirit. Now, it is time for the body. I do 20 jumping jacks, 10 pushups, 10 sit-ups and 10 squats. I feel alive after doing this. Then, I immediately enter my cold plunge, where I sit in 45-degree water for 3-5 minutes. I don’t expect you to become a devotee of cold plunging or taking cold showers like I do. However, engaging in physical activity in the morning helps build strength and resilience. If I can stand sitting in frigid water in the morning, there is nothing that I cannot tackle for the rest of the day!
Number 4 – Coffee or Tea!
Okay. I have now taken care of my mind, spirit and body. Now I get to reward myself with a nice, hot cup of coffee. Especially after my cold plunge, the warmth of the coffee feels great. But I don’t gulp it down. I sit down and savor it. I practice something known as Ichigo Ichie. It is a Japanese saying that roughly translates to “one moment, one meeting.” Essentially, the argument is that we should savor every moment of life, as it will never occur in the same way again. It's a way of slowing down life and sometimes taking the time to appreciate the small things. I enjoy sipping my coffee, savoring its aroma, and taking a few minutes to slow down and appreciate the moment. Try it. Whether it is tea, coffee, or whatever you like to drink in the morning before tackling the big, imperfect world, savor it. Ichigo Ichie!
Number 5 – Journaling
The last thing I do before I pick up my phone and start checking my emails and texts is to spend a few minutes journaling. I have a Stoicism journal that I use, which includes prompts to guide me through writing about 3-5 things I am grateful for that day, what I want to accomplish that day, and so on. I also have an app that does the same thing. But any journal or notebook will suffice. Just so you put down on paper, or on an app, your intentions for the day and what you are grateful for. I journal again to see how I did for the day and how I'm feeling. It is an integral part of my day.
Now, I am ready to review my emails and texts and address the problems of the day. Mind you, the issues will still be there when I step out of my house, but unlike the person I described in the first paragraph of this article, my mind, body and spirit are now ready to deal with any problems, big or small.
Do I still get upset sometimes at things that happen during the day? Sure, I do. I am human. However, I don’t get upset nearly as much as I used to years ago. When you establish a great morning routine, you give yourself an edge to take on the day and succeed.
As leaders, we need to be as sharp as possible for the benefit of our organizations and the people we lead. Our troops don’t need frazzled, angry, nervous leaders. They need us to be calm and sharp, especially in crises.
You don’t have to copy my routine, but hopefully it will give you some ideas for creating your morning routine. Trust me, it will be your superpower for the day.
