I have been struggling to get a good morning routine in place forever now. I have gone through so many iterations of it, I couldn't begin to list out all the tweaks I have made. And I'm at it again.
Why a morning routine, you ask? Well, besides the fact that my coach, Mark has been telling me about morning routines for years—once upon a time, I read the books "The Miracle Morning" and "The 5am Club". Both of these books are about morning routines. To keep it simple, it's all about consistency and having a set of morning actions that get you ready for the day.
My morning routine up until this morning was as follows:
- Wake-up
- Cold Shower / Brush Teeth
- Coffee
- Bible Reading
- Journaling
After this, I would go about the rest of my day. This routine was a decent start. It helped my body and brain wake up. It also allowed me to get some spiritual nourishment and put some thoughts on paper—well, in a journal. Lately, however, I've felt that I was missing some kind of movement to kick start my body and get some calories burned before the day gets in the way.
So, this morning I made a couple adjustments. After my cold shower, I went in the basement and did 15 minutes of slow jogging (aka slogging) while I listened to the audio version of my Bible. Well, the slogging was a good idea, but listening to the Bible while slogging was not. Trying to concentrate on taking in scripture while exercising was not spiritually fruitful. I couldn't remember most of what I heard.
Starting tomorrow, I am going to make the following adjustments:
- Wake-up
- Cold Shower / Brush Teeth
- Exercise - to include a combination of slogging, shadow boxing, and high-step marching
- Coffee / Bible Reading
- Journaling
As you can see, the exercise is the newest part. I am going to do this in the basement, at least while the extreme cold is here. Hopefully this will help me kick start my body and my mind, knock the cobwebs loose. Then I can grab my coffee, read my Bible and finish off with my journaling.
I am also bailing on the listening to the Bible while exercising. It's too hard for me to concentrate. However I am going to listen to and read the Bible together. Double up on the input methods. Alex Hormozi swears by reading and listening for the best way to really dig into what you are learning/studying.
I am looking forward to this one sticking. Many of my other attempts didn't stick because they just weren't the combination of tasks in the right order. This feels right. Only time will tell, but I believe this morning routine will be the one.
Are you a morning person with a routine you follow everyday? When was the last time you made any adjustments and did they help? I'd love to hear from you.