Mornings 101:
How to Create Your Ideal Morning Routine

This is the third article in the six-part Mornings 101 series that focuses on how to implement the most effective strategies for dominating your day before breakfast.

If you want to optimize your day you first need to optimize your morning, and the only way to do that is to know what an optimal, or ideal, morning looks like.

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Before I took the time to plan out my mornings in detail, I was guessing. Even though I had years of experience waking up and starting my day there was a pivotal shift that took place when I began to think through exactly what I was doing — as opposed to just going through the motions.

Creating a well-thought out, ideal morning routine is a critical step in the process of making each day as productive as possible.

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4 Steps to Create Your Ideal Morning Routine

Here are the four core pieces of putting together an ideal routine. Keep in mind that this is an ideal, not perfect, version of how your day could begin.

The key here is to imagine what would happen if the stars were aligned and you did exactly what you intended to do, but with a little wiggle room for the occasional bump in the road.

1. Study and Model After High-Achievers

Before you begin, it’s best to know what the most successful people are doing. There are many amazing people who are already waking up and dominating their day, which means all you really need is a few great ideas to steal from them.

If you have been listening to my podcast you know that I ask every ambitious guest about their ideal day, including people like David Allen, Dean Karnazes, and Bob Proctor. Though there are many variations in the answers to my question, though the similarities are even more striking.

Here are 7 of the most common characteristics of ideal morning routines, as outlined by some of the most productive high-achievers.

1. Wake up 3 to 4 hours before your workday begins.
2. Drink plenty of water right away (typically between 1/2 liter and 1 liter).
3. Meditate on gratitude, visualize your day, and/or spend a few moments in total silence.
4. Exercise vigorously for a short time period.
5. Eat a healthy breakfast, usually consisting of fruit, smoothies, and a little caffeine.
6. Fill your mind with positive and inspiring ideas through great books.
7. Plan your day on paper before you begin work.

2. Align Your Morning Routine to Your Grand Goals

In order to make the most of your mornings you need to know why you would choose one activity over another. There are so many possible choices to make that you will need a powerful filter to clarify what matters most.

The best method is to prioritize activities that are directly aligned to your current grand goals. For example, if you are training for a marathon, then an early morning run is a perfect choice.

If you are applying to graduate school, then researching and applying to your top choice universities would likely be a much better choice than watching the morning news, reading a random book, or sleeping in.

The key is to clarify what goals matter the most to you right now and then design your days with the best habits and tasks in mind that will push you directly toward your goals.

3. Focus on Boosting Your Energy

Of all the strategies that have worked the best in my own life, energy-boosting strategies float to the top over and over again. When you prioritize high energy early in the morning you end up boosting your productivity, improving your mood, and setting yourself up for success all day long.

Some of my personal favorite energy boosters include drinking 1 liter of water, a double espresso, and a large green smoothie for breakfast — and including time for a short and intense run.

With a powerful and energetic morning routine in place you will show up to your work primed and ready for action.

It’s easy to see how well this strategy works in comparison to the opposite approach. Think back to all those mornings when you woke up late, ate an unhealthy breakfast, and showed up to the office stressed out and exhausted.

An ideal morning routine makes time for the habits that create an ideal day, and the best energetic habits certainly set you up for a productive day.

4. Write it All Down

Now that you know what the high achievers are doing, what your current goals are, and that energy is a critical component to a productive day, it’s time to put together your ideal morning routine.

I recommend you spend some quality focused time planning out exactly how an ideal morning could work for you. You may also want to consider making multiple variations, like I discuss in this episode of my podcast.

The key is to write everything down and be as detailed as possible in the beginning. Over time you will begin to memorize your best days and find a written schedule less necessary. However, it’s a great idea to return to this plan and update it on a periodic basis.

The routine doesn’t have to be fancy, just a simple list of what you plan to do, in the order you plan to do everything. It’s also best to include time boundaries so that you know when certain habits need to be completed. Start the routine with your wake up time and end it with the moment you leave the house for work.

I tend to start from scratch with a brand new routine about once every three months. As the seasons of your life change, so will your routines.

Be flexible and willing to adapt. This is not a drill in military discipline, although those types of skills are certainly beneficial.

Is Your Routine Ready for Action?

As soon as you complete the first draft of your routine, put it to the test. Ask yourself these 5 questions to make sure it’s ready for prime time.

1. Is my routine ambitious, yet realistic to my life, meaning that it is not held to perfection?
2. Have I built in buffer time for unexpected events?
3. Does my routine include time for habits, projects, or tasks that are aligned to my highest priorities and current goals?
4. Have I structured my routine around the prevention of my common mistakes (like missing workouts late in the day)?
5. Does my routine focus on energy as one of the primary goals so the rest of the day is productive and fantastic?