Human are creatures of habits which means that what defines us is more likely to be what we do everyday than our major life achievements. That also fuels the idea that such achievements may be the result of the tiny steps we are taking each day. That’s the reason why I am so curious about the pattern that govern top performers’ life’s.
The outstanding work done by Tim Ferriss over the years, compiling insights from exemplary individuals life’s provides a bottomless set of data. Indeed, you would need more than 24 hours each day if you were to add everyone’s routines to yours. This post is about the routines that I tried and adopted (or left behind) to build my own set.
#1 – Meditation (10 – 20 min)
Daily morning meditation sets the frame for the day. As explored in a previous post, priming is a fundamental brain mechanism, based on scientific evidence and highlighted by Nobel Prize winer Daniel Kahneman. Human brain works in such a way that its reactions tend to be conditioned by the previous environment and stimulation it received. That means you have a simple tool to “trick” your brain into a positive mindset, simply by starting the day with positive thoughts. You can find detail about meditation practice here, and see how I frame my daily practice.
#2 – Make your bed (1 min)
Leveraging again on priming, a simple achievement paves the way for an achieving mind. I find this also gives a subtle nudge of satisfaction. It is also an action that is totally under your control, wherever you are. I moved in with my girlfriend, this was not always an option for me so I changed the routine to folding a towel to sit for my meditation. In practice this has the same effect.
#3 – Drink (5 min)
I have tried many types of morning drinks, any kind of strong tea, mate, coffee or fruit juice. No matter of what works for you, the hydration reflex helps to condition the body. I also appreciate the physical action of making the drink, starting the day by building up something healthy – I especially appreciate preparing morning drinks for my family members.
#4 – Yoga (10 min to 1 hour)
Whenever possible, I’ll start the day with a yoga session. Squeezing the Yoga session in the morning gives me the feeling of having already “won the day”. More about my yoga practice here.
#5 – Prioritize (5 to 10 minutes)
Once this routine is done, I dedicate a few minutes to set-up tasks and to-do lists for the day. I like to rank the importance of my tasks to ensure I can focus primary on what matters the most.
I try my best to keep my phone in flight mode until this routine is done. I find the feeling very different if for some reason I get to see a bunch of work emails, social media or news notification.
Keeping up with any routine is always difficult and it is normal to miss out on some of them on a regular basis. My best advice is to build up some time in the morning by getting up earlier, this will help you to win the day. Another observation: contrary to what I initially believed, I tend to miss out on my routines on the less busy days such as weekend or holiday, especially for the meditation part.
Let me know the routines that work for you!
Personal Optimum 