What does your morning routine look like?
Do you wake up, brush your teeth and start working straight away, still in your pajamas?
Or do you take the time to make a healthy breakfast, do some exercise, and shower before that instead?
Now, I am not trying to take a jab at your morning routine. I just want to point out that the first example I gave you doesn’t sound a lot like a morning routine to me. Does it sound like one to you?
Even though morning routines are an essential part of our lifestyle, we tend to neglect them and opt for option 1, other than the second, more healthy-sounding one.
This might be because we want to get as much sleep as possible or because there is no force in the Universe that can make you go for a run at 7 AM. Whatever your reasons are, there is much you can gain by optimizing your morning routine to make sure it sets you up for success.
Why having a morning routine is important?
Your morning routine is essentially the trigger that kickstarts your day. In fact, research has linked having a morning routine with increased productivity and success.
And to some extent, this makes perfect sense – if you start your morning in the “right” way, the whole day ahead is set for success.
At the least, a morning routine is a great way to take care of your sleepy, dehydrated body. Things like drinking water first thing in the morning, doing some light exercise, and taking a shower can make you feel refreshed and ready to tackle your daily tasks without drinking five coffees.
Your morning routine can also be a great way to make time for all those things you never seem to get around to doing.
For example, I have started reading a book while having my morning coffee for the past several months. I only read for about 20-30 minutes, but this makes all the difference to my day. Since I often get too busy, I can’t spare a second of my day to open up a book and curl up on the couch. This is why by doing something I love first thing in the morning, my day begins on a positive note.
Of course, you don’t necessarily have to include reading in your morning routine. Just think about the things that you like to do and make you feel good. Some people enjoy journaling. Others go for a run. Whatever your thing is, what’s more, is that by committing to a bit of self-care every morning, you will feel more emotionally and mentally recharged.
Top 5 Books on Morning Routine
There are plenty of books written on the subject of morning routines. As a big fan of self-improvement literature, it was difficult for me to pick the top 5 that sit best with me. However, after giving it a thorough ponder, I came up with the list outlined below.
Each of those books has left some sort of positive mark on my life. I hope they do the same for you if you decide to pick some of them up. So, here are my top 5 best morning routine books without further ado!
Happy reading!
The Miracle Morning, by Hal Elrod
We are starting our list with a beautifully simple entry. The Miracle Morning doesn’t pretend to deliver a groundbreaking solution to all your problems. Instead, it emphasizes how a solid morning routine can change your life for the better. Hal Elrod outlines six principles to do so, which he calls Life S.A.V.E.R.S. These stand for:
- Silence – Accomplished by meditating and breathing exercises. By starting your day with silence, you introduce peacefulness throughout it.
- Affirmations – Positive affirmations can be used to reprogram any negative thoughts you might have and help craft your new mindset.
- Visualization – Visualizing what you want to achieve or where you want to be can often turn dreams into reality.
- Exercise – The strong body crafts a strong mind. You should take care of your physical shell if you want to reap the benefits
- Reading – Reading in the morning is essential to get your thought juices flowing and prepare you mentally for the day ahead.
- Scribing – Journaling has been proven to have a positive effect on people’s emotional wellbeing. It also helps enhance your self-reflective abilities.
What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, by Laura Vanderkam
Who better to learn successful morning ritual practices than by actual successful people? Laura Vanderkam digs deep into the insights of such people and delivers astounding results. According to her, the things you should focus on in the morning if you want to be successful are the ones that never seem to be a priority.
Think in terms of reading a book, working out, or meal-prepping for the next couple of days. Sure, you won’t perish if you don’t do any of those, but they benefit your total well-being in the long run. You can think of the mornings as a sort of limbo, where you can throw any of the things you simply don’t have time to do during your day. Because in reality, if you don’t get them done then, they will probably drive around the empty space forever.
Along this paradigm, Laura also offers an actionable implementation plan to help you start the whole process. She keeps things simple and to the point, without using empty words – and this is precisely why I like this book so much!
The 5 AM Club, by Robin Sharma
When one of my best friends recommended this book to me, I have to admit that the title definitely made me roll my eyes. Who willingly gets up at 5 AM? Well, according to Robin Sharma – successful people do. In fact, this is precisely what they owe a big part of their success to. As Sharma says, If you want to be like the top 5%, you need to stop acting like the 95%.
Well, this rings about right. Robin Sharma is one of the most popular leadership gurus in the world and has influenced countless people around the globe to be the best version of themselves. In The 5 AM Club, he communicates the message of why it’s important to get up early in the mornings through a fictitious story. The story was so compelling that it even convinced me to try out his methods – a self-proclaimed sleep addict. And, I must admit, after a week of doing so, I did feel more productive, focused, and refreshed in the mornings.
Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey
What do Freud, Picasso, and Mozart have in common? Well, first of all – they are some of the most famous people in the world. And second of all, believe it or not, they had a morning routine. Daily Rituals explores the morning routines of famous and successful people and points out what is it that works so well in them. The book keeps things simple and tight, showcasing exactly what the great did as part of their mornings.
For example, did you know that Benjamin Franklin practiced something known as “air bath”? Essentially, this is just a fancy way of saying that he sat around the house in his birthday suit. You might find it silly or bizarre, but the fact still remains that it worked for him. I loved how simple this book is and what light read it was. It did very well in inspiring me and offering reassurance that even the great of the great committed to some questionable morning behaviors.
My Morning Routine, by Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander
Similar to Daily Rituals, My Morning Routine takes the routines of existing people and dives deep into repeating trends they discovered during their interviews. The book is great in that it sources its information from a wide array of people of different backgrounds and professions. It’s a bit more rigid and thorough than Daily Rituals, so you will enjoy it tremendously if you are into those kinds of books.
The main moral of the book is that all the successful people plan their mornings and don’t simply leave them to chance. Of course, we can’t plan for everything, and sometimes, the things that go wrong are outside our control. What’s great about My Morning Routine is that it explains what to do exactly when we are put in unfamiliar waters. It asks the difficult and sometimes even cynical questions that we should ask ourselves if we want to build a realistic morning routine that works for us.
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Blogger, dreamer, procrastinator, and lover of everything soul-touching. My mission is to make you laugh, provoke your thoughts, light up your day and inspire you to fall in love with life and yourself.
