Morning Routines and Top Habits of Highly Successful People
It's no surprise to some of you that I love to read self development books. I enjoy the process of learning and growing. I thought I would put together a post which explores the habits of highly successful people as recommended by them. There are many individuals in the self development industry who have varying alterations of habits or routines which they attribute to their success. Most of the books I have read talk about the importance of having a morning routine. They say it allows you to take some time for yourself and meet your own needs first. They go as far as to say, a morning routine sets us up for success by allowing ourselves to be in control of our schedule rather than it controlling us. Not only that, thoughts we have and activities we engage in the morning sets the tone for the rest of the day, unless you consciously choose otherwise. I think it’s important to take time for yourself and do things that encourage self development first thing in the morning before you give to anyone else. As they say, you cannot pour from an empty cup. Studies back this up, proving that taking time for stillness and yourself can increase your productivity.
The well known former monk Jay Shetty speaks about creating a mindful morning routine.
Below are the activities suggested in his book Think Like a Monk:
T= Thankfulness (Gratitude - thinking, writing or speaking)
I = Insight (learning, reading, listening to a podcast)
M = Meditation (stillness, prayer, breathwork)
E= Exercise (movement, walking, yoga, exercise)
Although not mentioned here, in his book Jay recommends waking up earlier, he suggests that waking up even 15 minutes earlier to get a head start on this routine can really help.
Similarly Hal Erod from his book The Miracle Morning refers to “The Life S.A.V.E.R.S: six practises” he commits to in the morning. In his book, he claims that these six personal development practises are proven to save you from unfulfilled potential in life. He believes they will enable you to alter, change or transform any area of your life and help you to become the person you need to easily attract, create and live the most extraordinary life you have ever imagined.
S = Silence
A = Affirmations
V = Visualisation
E = Exercise
R = Reading
S = Scribbling (journalling)
Although Hal recommends spending the first hour of your day implementing this routine and building these habits, he recognises that not everyone is able to do so. In this case, he suggests spending one minute on each of the six activities. When you put it like that it’s impossible to find an excuse not to, I mean we probably spend longer scrolling on our phones.
Another self development teacher and writer Robin Sharma, also speaks about the importance of your habits and routine. If you don’t already know who he is I’d be surprised! He is the author of bestselling books like ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’, ‘The 5 AM Club’ and many others. Evidently, he too is an advocate for waking up early, 5am to be precise. As per his conversation with Marie Forleo, he suggests the following morning routine:
5:00 – 5:20am: Move
Kick off the first twenty minutes with some movement. dance, walk, run, lift weights, do some yoga — whatever gets your blood moving, heart pumping, and endorphins circulating. As Robin says, “The way you feel when you first wake up is not the way you’re going to feel at 5:20.” Trust the process and move your body. In twenty minutes you’ll feel better and your brain will be primed for intense focus. According to Robin, when you exercise, you release something called BDNF — brain-derived neurotrophic factor — which really optimises your brain. You also release serotonin and dopamine, which make you feel good and set you up for happiness and productivity throughout the day. This is why exercising first thing in the morning is so important.
5:20 – 5:40am: Reflect
Your reflection time should be active. It’s a way to turn inward and connect to what’s most important to you. Here are some ways to dive into reflection:
Journal
Visualise
Pray
Meditate
Do any practice that helps you connect with what’s most important to your heart and soul.
5:40 – 6:00am: Grow
Want to grow as a leader, parent, partner, entrepreneur, or human? This is your time to read, watch, and listen so you can learn. Invest this time in learning, educating yourself and growing.
This schedule shows Robin Sharma's approach to a morning routine is unique yet very simple. He follows a 20/20/20 formula, meaning you spend 20 minutes on each stage of the whole routine.
Just like Hal Elrod he says it is okay to adjust the formula for your needs. If you discover that it works better for you to have a victory hour from 6 AM to 7 AM, that’s fine! Maybe you prefer to spend the first 20 minutes praying, reading, meditating, or journaling and the second 20 minutes exercising. That’s fine too! You can switch up the order as you need to.
These are just three examples but as you can see they pretty much all say the same things, it's just packaged differently. Whether you incorporate T.I.M.E, The Miracle Morning, or 20/20/20 formula, you’re almost guaranteed to set yourself up for a successful, productive and happier day as all these practises are backed up by scientific research as cited in their perspective books.
Will you be incorporating any of these activities? Let me know by commenting down below of messaging me on instagram