You've heard it all before.
Stretch regularly
Exercise more
Practice gratitude
Do affirmations
Meditate
Drink plenty of water
The list goes on and on...
They all make sense.
Doing them does genuinely help.
But no one tells you...
When you add them all up
You're looking at 10, 15, maybe 30 things you're supposed to do.
Not just once
But every single day
And not just one time
But for weeks and months
It's not sustainable
Some days you'll manage some items
Other days, other ones
Occasionally, you'll hit them all.
But most days?
You'll miss more than you complete
And the ones you miss?
They don't just disappear
They become a constant reminder of where you feel short
The brain has a way of focusing on what you didn't do
Rather than what you did
So what starts as self-improvement
Becomes a source of guilt and frustration.
You know what I'm talking about, right?
I'd hear Tony Robbins talk the importance of gratitude
I would commit to Jim Kwik's advice about drinking more water
Or promise to implement Brendon Bruchard's tip on meditation
But follow through was rare, and results even rarer
Then I tried something different
Instead of treating each practice as a separate task to remember
I built them into one morning routine.
I took the most important activities and scheduled them
As the first thing to do after waking up.
One block of time
With one daily goal - complete the routine!
The result?
I wrote a book
Became both fit and flexible
My anxiety went down
My productivity went through the roof
My posture went from hunch back to fully straight
I converted more clients
I made more money
Even my relationships improved as I felt better about myself
All of this in just 90 days!
Not because I suddenly gained willpower
Not because I finally "got serious"
Simply because I stopped trying to remember 20 things
And started following 1 system.
This is what a well-designed morning routine does
And it's easier than you think
So easy, you'll wonder why they don't teach it
1. First, take out a piece of paper
Write down every single practice, habit, or piece of advice
You've been meaning to do
All of it...
- The stretches your physical therapist recommended
- The journaling practice you read about
- The breathing exercises
- The cold showers
- The affirmations.
Everything!
2. Second, go through the list
Ask yourself one question for each item:
How does this move the needle forward in my life?
Not for the person who recommended it
Not for the influencer who swears by it
But for you
If you can't describe a clear reason tied to your actual life, cross it off
The goal is not to build someone else's ideal routine
It's to building yours
3. Third, build your list
Collect practices that address your real challenges
If you have chronic back pain, those stretches stay on the list
If you deal with anxiety, the breathing exercises stay
If you want to write but never find time, keep the morning writing block
Be ruthless here
4. Fourth, estimate times
Next to each item, write how long it will take to do or complete
- Drinking water takes less than a minute, so write < 1 minute
- Thinking about gratitude takes about a minute, so note 1 minute
- If meditation takes you 15 minutes, put 15 minutes
- If running or working out takes 20 minutes, note 20 minutes
Do this for the rest of the items
5. Next, Create a 60 minute routine
Look at your list with the time estimates
And pick a set of items that adds up to roughly 60 minutes
It doesn't matter how many items are on the list
As long as they add up to 1 hour
You might have:
20 items that take 1 min
+ 3 items that take 10 min
+ 2 items that take 5 minutes
= 25 items that add to 60 minutes
Or You might have:
5 items that take 5 min
+ 5 items that take 1 min
+ 1 item that takes 30 min
= 11 items that add to 60 minutes
6. Lastly, do the routine
Every morning you wake up, look at the list first thing
Go through the list completing each item
Do this every morning
That's it
Told you it wasn't bad :)
Having a routine is one thing
Starting and sticking with it is another
But don't worry
I have a fun little video series that goes into all that
In fact, the tips are actually easier than creating the routine
The video series shows you how to:
- Order the items in your routine - The sequence matters more than you think because each activity should naturally flow from one to the next
- Program the brain - You'll learn a a simple statement that programs your mind to jump out of bed to start the routine each and every morning
- Start the Routine - You don't want to jump into everything once, but use time tested process that ensures you stick with it for life
- Start the routine in bed - You can actually start the routine during the 15-30 minutes you're laying half-awake, doing so actually makes you get out of bed easier
So ...
What will you achieve if you could do 10 to 25 more things per day, every day?
Will you:
- Look and feel better
- Make more money
- Have free time for friends and family