A morning routine is simply the tasks you do in the morning daily without fail. It is important to understand that a morning routine starts the previous night. If you don’t have adequate sleep, you are unlikely to get up as expected. Let us highlight some importance and benefits of a morning routine, to give you the motivation to develop a suitable morning routine.
Why Having A Morning Routine Is Important
Below are some powerful reasons for having a morning routine:
Helps You Relax and Become Stress-free
One of the aspects of having a morning routine includes sleeping early every night between 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. A study shows that people who sleep late are more likely to ruminate over negative thoughts, which leads to stress. When you sleep early, you get the required amount of sleep needed to feel fresh and energetic when you wake up hence, that lessens your stress and relaxes your mind and body.
Moreover, according to Cleveland Clinic, when you don’t get sufficient sleep, you lack alertness, are irritable and it becomes hard for you to carry out simple daily activities. Hence, having a morning routine saves you from these symptoms of insufficient sleep and you become more alert, relaxed, and stress-free.
Makes You Productive and Organized
Have you ever felt extremely tired and sleepy at work? I am sure it has happened quite often when you spent a good part of the night at work and didn’t get sufficient sleep. According to this study, your cognitive functions become less responsive and your productivity decreases when you are sleep deprived. Moreover, not getting enough sleep also adversely affects your problem solving skills. However, when you have a morning routine, you get the right amount of sleep, which makes you more productive throughout the day.
In addition, when you have a morning routine, you become more organized. For instance, if you wake up late in the morning because you slept late at night, you will be running late for work, you will either skip breakfast or eat in a hurry, you will miss you morning exercise and you will be stressed out due to being late.
However, if you develop a suitable morning routine and follow it, you will wake up fresh each morning and have at least an hour or two to exercise, have breakfast, read the newspaper or do house chores. Hence, in order to be more organized, a morning routine is essential because it not only saves you time but also lets you manage it effectively.
Leads You to Success
People who are early risers, and who follow a strict morning routine, claim that their morning routine is what has helped them be successful. A study that was conducted in a Texas university showed that students who were early risers had GPAs of 3.5 whereas those who considered themselves night owls had GPAs a whole point below, 2.5. This shows that when you have a morning routine, you are more likely to succeed in your life.
Studies also show that early risers best utilize their time when they wake up early and use it to their advantage by planning their day. Hence, if you want to be successful, it is essential that you have a morning routine.
Now that you know the psychology of a morning routine and its importance, you know why you must incorporate it into your life. Let me further motivate you to develop a morning routine by giving you examples of successful people who have benefited from having a morning routine along with the morning practices they perform to be successful.
Successful People Who Had/Have Morning Routines
Here are some of the most famous and successful people in the world who attribute their success to their habit of waking up early daily:
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ludwig Van Beethoven was a famous German pianist and composer. Beethoven had a morning routine of waking up at dawn followed by a few activities here and there. He would have breakfast 30-60 minutes after waking up which consisted of coffee that he prepared himself by counting 60 beans per cup. This great musician had a habit of going to bed at 10 p.m. every night and that is what allowed him to maintain his morning routine. He claimed that having a morning routine added to his creativity as well as productivity.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, the founding father of the United States, also had a morning routine that has been lauded by many. He not only slept early each night at 10 p.m. but also woke up at 5 a.m. followed by a 3-hour morning ritual which included addressing ‘Powerful Goodness’, a plan for the rest of his day and breakfast.
Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, had a strict morning routine. He used to wake up at 6 a.m. every morning and would look at the mirror and ask himself ‘If today was the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I am about to do today?’ This question allowed him to plan his day in a way that would make him happy when the day ended. Moreover, Steve Jobs had a morning ritual of having breakfast with his family followed by a little more work at home. He would be at the office by 8 or 9 a.m.
Tony Robbins
Tony Robbins is a motivational speaker and an author of self-help books and he associates his success to his morning routine. Tony, wakes up early each day between 5.30 a.m. to 6 a.m. and practices breathing exercises. Another interesting morning ritual Tony Robbins practices is a 10-minute visualization of everything that he is grateful for and what he wants in life. He follows this by a 15 to 30 minute light exercise.
Barrack Obama
Barrack Obama, the president of the United States, also has a morning routine, which includes him waking up 6.30 a.m., working out at 6.45 a.m., reading several newspapers followed by a healthy breakfast with his family. The president is then off to run America at 9 a.m.
As you can see, the most successful people in the world have a morning routine that they follow strictly. Hence, if you want to develop the habit of having a morning routine, you must follow the simple steps that we will discuss in this book.