Just the other day my in-laws were visiting and we were all enjoying lunch at Brother Jon’s Public House. If you must know, I got the pulled pork sandwich, and it was amazing.
Anyways, as we’re finishing up lunch my father-in-law looks and my wife and asks, “What is a typical day for you?”
It’s probably weird, but I got really excited because I am very routine oriented. Fortunately he didn’t ask me, so now I get to share it for the first time with you.
Why We Need A Morning Routine
The truth is you don’t (technically) need a morning routine. However, the average person has 25,000 mornings, and studies have shown that willpower is greatest in the morning.
It comes down to this:
“Drive your day, or your day will drive you.” (Tweet this)
– Mark Sisson, Mark’s Daily Apple
My Morning Routine
- Wake up. Usually at 9 a.m. (actually my log over the last 6 months shows a 9:08 a.m. average) unless we’re going for a hike, then it might be closer to 6 a.m. (Update: A few people asked how I sleep in until 9 a.m. I should note that I’m up until 1-2 a.m.)
- Take a shower. Some people drink coffee, I take a shower. I literally make a bee line for the shower as soon as I step out of bed.
- Make the bed. This is actually something I’ve implemented over the past year after listening to the Admiral William H. McRaven University of Texas at Austin Commencement Address and discovering why this can be so important. (Hint: watch the speech to find out why)
- Clean my work area. I keep my work area pretty spotless, so this usually consists of picking up dog toys and putting them in the bin downstairs.
- Get a bottle of water. We either have Arrowhead water bottles or I’ll fill up my tervis tumbler.
- Read the Bible. I read 2 chapters each day from a chronological reading plan. In case you were wondering, this is the exact Bible I read from.
- Read another spiritual book. I feel like I can’t have intelligible conversations about Christianity if I’m completely unaware of other religions, so I try to read 1 chapter a day from another book.
- Read the news. I would prefer to read the actual newspaper, but it’s hard to justify spending money on something I can read for free on my phone. So, I usually check the top stories on the USA Today app, and then check the top stories on Reddit.
- Write. By this time it’s usually 10 a.m. or possibly 10:30 a.m. and my work day officially begins. If my writing is going well then I’ll write for a couple hours, otherwise it could go late into the afternoon (but this is rare).
Some More Morning Routines
If you’re curious what some other people’s morning routines look like, check these out:
What about you, what does your morning routine look like?
Wesley–I was curious about your morning routine (making the bed). I listened to McRaven’s speech and realized I must do this. It is the start for a day well-planned. Since my retirement, I haven’t found anything to replace the satisfaction and adrenalin from my job, so I tend to lounge about or flail about (ex-husband’s phrase) who divorced me after 16 years for a writer….say WRITER…. and that lasted three months. I’ve always been a writer, but he never understood it, did not want to talk about it, and was a rich thug-bully. My choice–many regrets. Got money–had none when we married.
Karen, I think anything you can do to get a few quick wins in the morning definitely helps start the day. Making the bed is one of those.