In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg calls bed making a ‘keystone habit.’ He believes this decision starts a chain leading to more decisions throughout the day that generally lead to a successful life. So, maybe your mom was right all along?
When I was younger I scoffed when people talked about how important breakfast is. Now that I work in a professional (ok that may be a stretch) environment, I can’t imagine getting through the day without a good breakfast. It literally fuels my success. Eating a good, healthy breakfast can actually reduce stress. You also want to drink around three glasses of water in the morning to get your body primed for the day.
If you want to change the world, or even just make it bend to your will so you can make a fortune, you’ve got to be up to speed with what is going on. Virgin America’s CEO, David Cush reads the morning news on his exercise bike, while GE’s Jeff Immelt reads the paper and watches the news after his cardio workout. This is kind of like cliff notes for your day.
If you’re like me, you get out of bed at the last possible opportunity. Well, if you truly want to be successful, you’re gonna have to roll out of bed a little earlier. The CEO of PepsiCo., Indra Nooyi has been known to wake up as early as 4am while the CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, it up no later than 4.30am. You know, “just getting by” sounds kind of good when you put it like that…
Quality time with the family isn’t just important in regards to being successful, it’s important in order to lead a healthy life and be the best you possible. As busy as many of our lives are, the morning can be one of the best times to capitalize on these concepts. Whether its talking over breakfast, reading together or even working out together, spending time with your family in the morning invites healthy habits and sets a tone for the day.
Start your morning by writing down a list of things your grateful for. This can help you gain perspective as well as getting yourself into a good frame of mind for the day ahead. Morning gratitudes helps you begin the day with optimism, which is a great step towards success.
Many of the world’s most successful leaders and businessmen have adopted techniques taught in The Miracle Morning, a book that teaches readers to spend their mornings engaging in silence, affirmations, visualizations, exercise and scribing or “S.A.V.E.R.S.” It’s all about “habit stacking” and the earlier you start, the more you can get done.
You don’t have to make a full itinerary or list of your daily activities, but loosely planning your day can save you time and frustration later. You’ll know how much time you have for each task and where you may be able to cut corners or veg out a little. Successful people do that, right?
One habit almost all highly successful people share, is that they find time and inspiration to work on personal projects outside of their careers. Many of these people have turned those “pet projects” into the exact means for their success and fortune. With such busy lives, these projects become a part of their morning routines. A pet project can be an excellent motivator to get your ass out of bed.
There are different school of thought on this. Some believe it’s important to start with small victories, but most highly successful people will tell you to tackle the most difficult tasks first. This mindset is perfectly embodied by Mark Twain who suggests, “eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” I’m gonna go another direction, but thanks Mark…
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