What are the five steps to developing a productive morning routine?
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1) Track your time:
“Part of spending your time better is knowing exactly how you’re spending it now. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know that nutritionists tell you to keep a food journal because it keeps you from eating mindlessly. It’s the same thing with time.”
2) Picture the perfect morning:
“After you know how you’re spending your time, ask yourself what a great morning would look like for you.“
3) Think through the logistics:
“What would make your ritual easier? Do you need to set your easel next to your bed? Can you find a more cheerful alarm clock, or one you can’t turn off so easily? Come up with a plan and assemble what you need, but whatever you do, don’t label this vision as impossible.”
4) Build the habit:
- “One answer is to start slowly. Go to bed fifteen minutes earlier and wake up fifteen minutes earlier for a few days until this new schedule seems doable.”
- “Choose one new habit at a time to introduce.”
- “Chart your progress… Habits take several weeks to establish, so keep track of how you’re doing for at least thirty days… Once skipping a day feels like you forgot something— like forgetting to brush your teeth— you’ll know you’ve got a habit and can take your ritual up a notch.”
- “Feel free to use bribery at first… external motivations, like promising yourself tickets to a concert or a massage, can keep you moving forward.”
5) Tune up a necessary:
“Life changes. Rituals can change, too.”
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