My Four Hour Morning Routine

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  • Every minute is meticulously planned to set myself up for a kickass day.
  • Over the last three months I've landed on a routine that I really love and wake up excited to execute on. Combined with 8 hours of sleep the night before, it has completely eliminated the need for coffee. By 10am I am ready to go.
  • Many people have asked about my routine and why I spend so much time on it. This article will go through each segment, discussing the details of what I do and why I do it.
  • Wake Up: 6 - 6:20 AM
  • When I was in college, it was far more likely that I would go to bed at 6am than wake up at that time. This resulted in me waking up in the middle of the day, zombie walking to my third class after sleeping through the first two.  It was a perpetuating cycle. Waking up late led to sleeping late which led to waking up late, all the while I was missing out on valuable sunshine and morning events. I was able to shift this after graduating.
  • When I first started working full time, I was waking up about an half hour before work started. Then I started to recognize the value in getting stuff done before work. The work day often left me drained by the time I got home. This made it far less likely to want to do much outside of watching Netflix. Prepending the work day instead capitalized on the time period when I had the most energy.
  • It's also hard to overstate the importance of ensuring 8 hours of sleep. I've noticed that the most common factor between days where I perform poorly or have a poor mood are when I get less than 8 hours. It bewilders me how I ever got through college. Now, it's one of my top priorities.
  • Workout: 6:20 - 7:40 AM
  • There was a three year period where I stopped working out. My thought was that I was losing two hours each day that I could be spending else where to be more productive. What I didn't realize was that this mentality actually made me less productive overall.
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  • Working out has had far more mental benefits than physical ones. Going on a run allows the mind to wander, spurring up ideas of how to overcome the various challenges that it expects to face throughout the day. Physical movement helps the mind escape a state of slog that people usually try to solve by drinking coffee. This sets you up to accomplish more in the day in less hours.
  • I used to save working out for the end of the day when I first reintroduced the habit. This had the effect of being an obligation that hung over me throughout the work day. It was as if I had this deadline I had to finish all of my work by. And my reward if I did? More "work", but now in the physical sense.
  • Moving the habit to the beginning of the day relieved me of this "burden". Stress testing the body also gave me the day's first "win". The jolt of energy to get me going that no cup of coffee could ever induce.
  • Meditate: 7:40 - 7:50 AM
  • Our day is full of distractions. People pinging you for your attention. All of these external triggers have a way of manipulating how you're feeling. It has gotten so attention consuming that mindfulness is a practice that is gaining in popularity.
  • Meditation is the best tool in the mindfulness toolbox.
  • Naval Ravikant once described it as the art of getting to "inbox zero". Most professionals clear their email inbox as the first thing they do when they get into work every morning. Meditation accomplishes the same thing, but instead of emails we address our thoughts inbox. Process each one and consistently focus on how we are feeling today as descriptively as possible.
  • I like doing this after working out as it helps calm my breadth and be more in sync with how my body is feeling.
  • Cleanup: 7:50 - 8:15 AM
  • Cleanup involves a variety of tasks that help take me from the point A of sweater tshirt and gym shorts, to the point B of dressed and ready to take on the day.
  • When I was in college, I didn't give a shit how I looked. T-shirt, shorts, and gym sweater was my uniform. I enjoyed bumming out everyday and prioritized this level of comfort.
  • My fashion sense has a ton of room for improvement. But, I realized that looking your best everyday goes a long way towards helping you feel your best. Simply by trying, it will have a positive impact on your mood. Over time, I’m confident that my fashion sense will improve.
  • When COVID first hit, many took advantage of the work from home shift by never changing out of their pajamas. I didn't change. I made sure that the way I cleaned up in the morning was the same regardless of whether or not I was going into an office. By practicing on days where you don't need to look your best, you are well prepared for days when you do. Changing out of bum clothing also helps put you into the mindset of getting things done.
  • Practically, cleaning up includes showering each morning, helping me feel refreshed from the workout. I then shave every day because I hate how facial hair looks. Finally, I style my hair with wax every day, as I try to find the style that I most resonate with.
  • All throughout this period, I'm blasting what I call a hype playlist on Spotify. I recommend everyone create some sort of hype playlist with music that gets you excited to take on the day. For me, it's almost entirely filled with Eminem music, which was one of the most influential artists for me growing up.
  • Breakfast: 8:15 - 8:30 AM
  • The breakfast I prepare is almost always leftovers from the night before. I keep a very tight schedule, and don't want to lose minutes in the morning to cooking. I also don't subscribe to the methodology that some food is "breakfast food" and some isn't. Calories are calories.
  • If there are no leftovers from the night before, then I try to find some other low effort food to prepare to sustain me until lunch. Historically, this has been either eggs, Magic Spoon cereal, or protein pancakes.
  • Alongside whatever my breakfast is, I prepare a protein shake. This is simply a combination of water and Whey Protein from GNC. I'm trying to do a high protein diet to maintain being in good shape. Since I've started consuming this shake with the rest of my diet, I've lost almost 30 pounds while maintaining almost as much muscle mass.
  • Writing: 8:30 - 10:00 AM
  • I cap off my morning with a daily writing session with my accountability group. The 90 minutes is usually divided into a 10 minute hello, 75 minutes of focused writing, and a 5 minute recap of what we were able to get done. I have found the feedback from the group to always be valuable in helping me drill down to the core message of each piece of writing. They help me clarify what I want to share.
  • I find it essential to set aside time in the morning for focused writing. It is when we are at our creative peaks. It is also the best time of day to focus away from my surrounding distractions. When I come out of a morning writing session with my accountability group, I am armed with a new insight or approach into how to take on the rest of my day.
  • While this routine has been working really well for me, it's still evolving. I am constantly looking for ways to save a few minutes here and spend a few more fulfilling minutes there. Writing about it has forced me to concretize the routine, validating that each segment is worth keeping.
  • What about you? What's your morning routine?