We live our lives in days. It’s the natural unit of measure for our lives. Physically our bodies have a cycle to each day. It’s one of the most important units of life. Those days turn into weeks, which turn into months, which turn into years, which add up to your life. Each day we live is like a mini life. Making each day the best it can be is the goal. How do you do that? How do successful people create a great day?
The day is broken up into a beginning, a middle and an end. It starts with the morning, then the afternoon and finally the evening. Out of those three, which is the most important? Some night owls may disagree but it’s the morning that is most important. The start of the day is key to making it a great day. Most successful people point to their morning routine as the major key to their success. The morning sets the tone. The morning can bring you successful feelings to carry with you all day long. Let’s talk about how you take back your mornings and guarantee your success with a great day!
It Starts the Night Before
To have the most successful morning possible you need to start the night before. The ideal thing would be if you had an evening ritual. I call it the Evening Sacred 30. That’s the 30 minutes right before you go to bed. The top item is to make the plan for the next day. Having a plan will allow you to live your day. Not the day of the distracting world that tries to pull you every direction. I like to plan my day on paper and write out my appointments, my schedule and the items I want to get done. This ensures I get the day started right – with a plan.
The more preparation for the morning you can do the night before the more successful you will be. Figure out what time you would like to get up, what clothes you are going to wear, even put out your sneakers and workout clothes for the morning. Plan out what food you will have for breakfast. Set out a glass of water right next to your bed so you are ready to hydrate first thing upon rising.
The morning will go better if you get a good night’s rest. Having a consistent bedtime and wake time helps the body. Turning off electronic devices and avoiding them right before bed is helpful for your production and release of melatonin. That affects your ability to sleep deeply and restfully. Having a dark room helps. A comfortable bed and surroundings also add to restorative sleep.
First Thing – Greet Your Great Day
Welcome the day right. Get up immediately out of bed and drink some water. You’ve been without water for many hours and it’s the perfect way to start the day. Next, smile and know you’re here for a reason and you will make today the best it can be. Here are the top things successful people do as part of their meaningful mornings.
Top Morning Rituals of the Successful
Deep Breathing: In through the nose out through the mouth forcefully. This wakes you up and gets the toxins out.
Spiritual Time: Prayer, Meditation, and Quiet time – connection to God.
Gratitude: Be thankful for something – I like to list 3 things I’m thankful on a gratitude list I have. Having an attitude of gratitude starts the day in the right direction. It’s important to be filling your mind with positive thoughts and starting with gratitude for what you already have does that.
Get Moving: Exercise, Stretching, and QiGong: It’s important to get the body moving and get the blood flowing. Even just 5 minutes of basic exercises are very helpful. You will increase your energy levels all day long and sleep better at night. One of my favorite exercises is QiGong because it blends movement, breathing and body energy work all in one.
Morning Momentum the Nano Task: Getting tasks done feels great. Done is the engine of more. Start your morning off by getting a little task done. Something that just takes a few minutes max. It can be cleaning up a junk drawer, write a quick card to a friend, journaling for a few minutes or clearing your desktop. This gives you an early win and the rest of the day you have that sense of accomplishment with you.
Important Item First: Getting started on some item that is important to you. This could be a hobby, a project you have a lot of passion for, or a high revenue producing activity for your business. Start the day by going after this BEFORE the distractions of the day start coming at you. Hold off the distractions of the day as long as possible.
Must Avoid – What NOT to Do
No Snooze Button: Do not use the snooze button. Studies now show that it confuses your sleep cycle.
Avoid Email: This can be difficult, but it pays the highest dividends. Do not check email first thing in the morning. It’s a morning killer. You will get sucked into the day before you have a chance to get your day started. No matter how strong you think you are, you have to avoid email. The longer you can put this off the better a morning you will have. The emails will still be there later in the day. Take the first part of the day to work on YOU. You are the most important piece of the puzzle and you will sail through those emails once you get your day started on your terms.
Avoid Social Media / News / TV & all Digital Distractions: Sorry but Facebook first thing in the morning is not the way successful people do it. I know we all want to see what’s going on there but it’s not going to help you live a great day. You can check that stuff later – it will still be there. Starting your day away from news, TV and digital distractions will be a game changer. I use to be a Yahoo-aholic. I would jump on Yahoo first thing in the morning and read all the first news of the new day. What a waste of the most important time of the day! It is not only a waste of time but when you start thinking about all that news, it leads you further from your day and your life. Don’t do it. Keep pushing it back in your day – the further the better. If you have trouble then just push it back 15 minutes in your morning, then 15 more until you get all your important stuff done – then take a peek at. Over time you realize how much time you waste with digital distractions and they lose their power over you – what a great day that is. first thing in the morning is not the way successful people do it. I know we all want to see what’s going on there but it’s not going to help you live a great day. You can check that stuff later – it will still be there. Starting your day away from news, TV and digital distractions will be a game changer. I use to be a Yahoo-Facebook
Avoid Junk Food: Don’t eat junk food in the morning. If you have to eat things that are not super healthy leave it for later in the day – don’t ruin the first part of the day. Keep the healthy fuel going in the body first thing: water, fresh juice, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, oatmeal or avocado toast.
Yes YOU can Make it a Great Day!
Commit to taking back your mornings – your great day depends on it. Give it a try for the next few days – you will see an immediate difference. You need to take time for yourself. You are the most important person not only to yourself but to all those around you. When you have a great day everyone that comes in contact with you is affected. Your family, your friends, your business, your customers and your community. You need time for yourself and the distraction free morning is the place to get that. Let’s do this – start tonight – you are worth it.
Now you have the tools to take control and make it a great day!
Blaine
P.S. You may need to create some space to take back your mornings. You might have to wake up earlier. Don’t be afraid to do this – it’s worth it. Your body will adjust in a few days. You can get up earlier via a leap or little steps. The leap would be getting up 30 minutes or an hour earlier. The little steps would be getting up 5 to 10 minutes early and then over time add another 5 minutes till you get to the time that works best for you. I’m excited for you and the great days you are going to be producing by taking back your mornings!
Blaine Oelkers is a lifetime entrepreneur, a graduate of Purdue University and Stanford University’s Entrepreneurship program. He’s achieved over 100 Million dollars in sales and coached 1000’s of people. He’s currently the Chief Results Officer for many organizations as well as the President/Founder of a company called Selfluence. He helps business owners and their organizations achieve essentials results using the unique concept of a “Super Results Day”. He can be reached at blaine@selfluence.com.
Blaine is America’s Chief Results Officer® and the world’s greatest creator of doneness. He knows your results matter and he can help you get better, faster and more long-lasting results. Get started with one simple and elegant results technique that activates your mind with your top goal over 100 times a day. He explains it in a short TEDx talk he did which has been viewed by over 120,000 people! Your results matter – get access immediately at www.BlaineTEDx.com