5 ways to supercharge your morning (without waking up at 5am) 🙌
I’ve gone through so many different iterations of a morning routine trying to make it as efficient and effective as possible.
What I’ve learned over the years is that my morning routine can’t be about packing as much in as possible or waking up at 5am because after a few days, I just stop doing it completely. The effort level is too high and building consistency is too hard.
Instead, I’ve found that I need to prioritize morning habits that balance two factors in equal measure:
- They have high return on investment (ROI).
- They are easy enough to do long term.
5. to go to bed at the same time every night. So much of our motivation for the morning comes from what we do the night before, and research shows that having a consistent bed and wake up time is one of the best ways to get quality sleep. What happens when we get quality sleep? We’re more motivated to do hard things. Going to bed at a regular time means waking up with more energy to 1) stay away from the phone for 30 minutes, 2) do something challenging right when you wake up like meditate, 3) make a ritual and reward like coffee and reading, and 4) maybe even energize your body with some light exercise. Quality sleep makes everything easier.
The key is that everyone’s morning routine should look a little different. It’s not about doing my same meditation practice or drinking coffee or reading a book, it’s about breaking down your behaviors into a flow that prioritizes these things:
1. Avoiding fast dopamine hits right when you wake up
2. Doing something that is challenging/painful to establish baseline dopamine for the day
3. Creating ritual & reward so you’re motivated to keep doing your routine with positive reinforcement
If you include some variation of these three things AND you can maintain it long term, you’re on the right track 🙌
