The Perfect 5 Step Morning Routine

The perfect morning routine

My morning routine used to leave a lot to be desired.

But from doing research and trying things out I have begun to develop a great morning routine.

Not one that involves doing a million things and taking too much time and energy, but rather one that gives you back energy and preps you for the day.

I did the work and experimentation so that you all didn’t have to, here they are.

1. Immediately hop out of bed

If you snooze you lose. Literally.

Laying in bed makes you feel lazy and lethargic and you lose all possible momentum you could’ve had for your day.

Staying in bed and hitting the snooze to get some extra “sleep” does much more damage than you could imagine.

Not only do you get a minimal amount of sleep, but that sleep is severely hindered.

It sets you back and actually makes you more tired since your brain thinks it’s time to go to sleep again for a full night’s rest, but you are really only getting an extra 10-20 minutes of sleep.

The perfect solution to this is to place the alarm far away so you have to get up to turn it off and then you are already out of bed and don’t have an excuse to keep lying around.

2. Clean yourself / space

Take a quick shower, brush that morning breath out your mouth and make your bed.

By having a clean space and body you are ready to attack the day, since this will free up space in your brain.

Remember your environment is a reflection of you and vice verse. This is more physical and symbolic than anything else.

When you wake up and wash away the night you simultaneously wake yourself up and prepare for the day. You signal to your body that it is time to prepare for the tasks that lay ahead.

3. Get some movement OUTSIDE

5-10 minutes of light movement OUTSIDE is all you need.

I can’t stress enough how important the outside aspect is.

Going outside will get sunlight directly to your eyes and wake you up, while also helping with melatonin production (the chemical that makes us tired at night), later on in the day.

This movement can be in the form of walking, working out and doing some push-ups or jump rope, or just stretching. Again what’s important here is to do this outside and get the daylight in your eyes.

Look at Andrew Huberman if you want more info on this topic.

Now many people may not have a space where they feel comfortable to work out or stretch outside.

In this case you can take a walk around the block, or your apartment complex and bring in the day.

This is gonna get dopamine and ideas flowing and your body will be woken up by the combination of light movement and the sun.

4. Prep your mind

Now your mind should be clear and ready to attack the day.

Everyone always says to meditate but I feel as if you get some meditation benefits during your light movement.

I recommend sitting down and writing out what you want out of the day, how you are feeling, what you dreamed about, or just anything on your mind.

This is gonna clear up the headspace in your brain and give you clarity so you know what exactly to do for the day.

This should only be 5-10 minutes and should lead perfectly into whatever work you are going to do next.

5. Go into a deep work session

I know this has been said before, so I am here to say it again since it is such a great tip.

After doing all the steps outlined above you should immediately go into a deepwork session of about 60-90 minutes depending on what works best for you. (I personally do 75-minute sessions.)

What you want to do during this session is your most important work, and just knock it out for the rest of the day.

Many people say to workout earlier in the day, but if building a great body or working out isn’t your main priority I don’t believe you should do it 1st thing in the day unless your schedule forces you to do so.

Rather, I recommend using all this energy and focus that you now have to complete whatever task is most pressing, or whatever it is that will move the needle forward for you.

For me it ranges from practice for football, to designing my website, or writing these blogs for you all. So identify what is most important for you to get done and attack it!

BONUS 3

These are some extra tips you should try to incorporate that will make this morning routine run much smoother and give you more bang for your buck.

1. No Phone for the first 2 hours of the day

This should go without saying but just stay off your phone in the morning.

Allow yourself to bring in the day without already diving into the hell hole that is social media and responding to all the people and notifications vying for your attention.

Instead, keep this potent attention for yourself and utilize it during your morning routine and morning deep work session.

2. Sleep with the blinds open

This allows you to wake up naturally without an alarm which is much preferable to hearing that dreaded beep of an alarm clock in the morning.

This allows me to be much more positive to start off my day and I feel much better.

Also, this will force you to have a good sleep schedule because to get a good amount of sleep you will have to go to bed at a time that allows you to get 7-9 hours of sleep before the sun comes wakes you up.

2. Fast for the 1st 2 Hours of the Day

This allows your thinking to be much more clear. It’ll be hard at first but it will be worth it.

At first, you may feel very hungry during the morning, but fear not, the feeling is temporary and eventually goes away if you make it a habit after a couple of days.

Working on a fasted and empty stomach sharpens your mind and taps into ancient primal feelings that we don’t experience often these days.

In ancient times, when we lacked food, our minds sharpened so that we could identify the nearest source of food, whether that be nuts and berries or some sort of animal to hunt. So utilize this ancient operating system to your advantage.

Conclusion

This routine allows you to start fast and immediately get to work. None of this fluff about, waking up, stretching, working out, and eating a good meal.

Just hop out of bed, clean yourself and your area, get some light movement, and then prep your mind for the day.

This routine can take as little as 20 minutes and as much as 40 minutes depending on who you are and how much time you decide to take.

However, I’d say that’s a good turnaround that leads you directly into your work.

Now of course this is my routine. I don’t like to wake up and immediately workout so this is what I do. However, do what works for you.

This is your life and you are the one that has to live it. So go forth and live.

– Souley