WEBVTT - Second Cup: What makes a good morning routine

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about building a good morning routine. Because

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<v Speaker 1>this podcast is called Before Breakfast. I know a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of listeners already have great morning routines. I know other

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<v Speaker 1>listeners would like to build them, But what exactly makes

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<v Speaker 1>a good morning routine listeners? Zena wrote in with a

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<v Speaker 1>question along these lines. She asks, is it better to

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<v Speaker 1>start the day with productive work or should you work out, read, meditate,

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<v Speaker 1>et cetera. Sometimes I do those things, but then I

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<v Speaker 1>feel anty and like I'm avoiding something, namely the productive work.

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<v Speaker 1>She's worried she should be doing well. First, I want

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<v Speaker 1>to say that I don't think anyone should create a

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<v Speaker 1>morning routine that makes them feel anty. That is not

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<v Speaker 1>the point. Also, there's no one right answer to what

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<v Speaker 1>makes a good morning routine. But to build a morning

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<v Speaker 1>routine that's right for you, it helps to know a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit about why mornings matter. The reason many people

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<v Speaker 1>like having a morning routine is that mornings set the

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<v Speaker 1>tone for the rest of the day. A wind scored

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<v Speaker 1>then creates a sense of momentum that can keep you

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<v Speaker 1>going until bedtime. Also, most people have more discipline and

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<v Speaker 1>focus in the morning. They also have more control of

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<v Speaker 1>their time before work and family demands stack up, so

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<v Speaker 1>that makes mornings a great time for doing stuff that

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<v Speaker 1>life tends to crowd out those important but not urgent

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<v Speaker 1>things such as strategic thinking and planning, creative work, spiritual practices, exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>or nurturing close relationships. So if you're thinking of building

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<v Speaker 1>a morning routine or expanding one you already have, ask

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<v Speaker 1>yourself a few questions about the activity or activities you're

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<v Speaker 1>thinking of choosing. First, Do I enjoy doing this? A

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<v Speaker 1>good morning routine gives you a reason to get out

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<v Speaker 1>of bed. The image I like to keep in mind

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<v Speaker 1>is my children bounding out of bed on Christmas morning.

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<v Speaker 1>They're just so eager or to see what the day

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<v Speaker 1>will bring. That might be tough to pull off three

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<v Speaker 1>sixty five days per year, but I do know that

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to be hard to get up early day

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<v Speaker 1>after day for something you don't want to do in

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<v Speaker 1>the throes of a new resolution. You'll stick with it

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<v Speaker 1>for a few days or even a few weeks, but

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<v Speaker 1>then something's going to happen. You'll get busy at work,

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<v Speaker 1>or you'll get sick, or a family member will get sick,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll miss a few days, and then you'll have a

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<v Speaker 1>hard time starting up again. So, in other words, if

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<v Speaker 1>you hate to run, don't build a morning routine around running.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe there's some other form of exercise you like, such

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<v Speaker 1>as taking a class, or going for a walk with

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<v Speaker 1>a friend, or doing yoga with a video at home.

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<v Speaker 1>All of these would be much better choices than attempting

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<v Speaker 1>to force yourself to do something you just don't like.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, who wants to get out of bed for that?

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<v Speaker 1>The second question is whether morning time is the best

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<v Speaker 1>or only time for this activity you're considering. For many

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<v Speaker 1>people with regular jobs and families, morning is the best

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<v Speaker 1>logistical time for exercise. Probably you can find time the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of the day for the other activities that Zena listed.

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<v Speaker 1>You could meditate in your car in the parking lot

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<v Speaker 1>for five minutes before going into work. You could read

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<v Speaker 1>before bed at night. At least theoretically, you should be

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<v Speaker 1>able to do productive work at your desk during your

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<v Speaker 1>actual work hours. So that's why exercise is a very

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<v Speaker 1>popular morning activity. But let's say you work in an

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<v Speaker 1>office with a gym and lunchtime classes that employees are

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<v Speaker 1>encouraged to take or maybe you and your spouse go

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<v Speaker 1>for an hour long walk after dinner together each night.

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<v Speaker 1>I work for myself, so I can usually run in

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<v Speaker 1>the mid afternoon as a way to take a break

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<v Speaker 1>from work. If you fall in one of these categories,

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<v Speaker 1>then maybe you'd choose a different morning routine, like working

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<v Speaker 1>on your novel or meditating or taking an online class.

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<v Speaker 1>I think productive work makes the most sense in situations

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<v Speaker 1>where you have goals beyond your immediate job responsibilities. Perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>you'd like to do original research that would help you

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<v Speaker 1>become known as an expert in your field. You could

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<v Speaker 1>choose to get up early three mornings a week to

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<v Speaker 1>work on this and then focus on your normal duties

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<v Speaker 1>during the work day. I've also seen some leaders use

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<v Speaker 1>early mornings for thinking about the long term direction of

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<v Speaker 1>their companies. They need to be accessible to employees during

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<v Speaker 1>the work day, so they do focused individual work before

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<v Speaker 1>they show up at the office. Whatever you decide to

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<v Speaker 1>do as a morning routine, be sure to start small.

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<v Speaker 1>It's better to decide to walk for thirty minutes two

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<v Speaker 1>mornings a week and stick with it. Then aim to

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<v Speaker 1>take an hour long class seven mornings a week. Over

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<v Speaker 1>sleep your alarm on day three and never go back

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<v Speaker 1>and feel free to switch it up. To a routine

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't automatically mean doing the same thing every day. You

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<v Speaker 1>can carve out time without dictating that the same activity

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<v Speaker 1>happen within it. So maybe some mornings you exercise, some

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<v Speaker 1>mornings you do to productive work, and some mornings you read.

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<v Speaker 1>There are enough days in the seven day week that

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<v Speaker 1>you don't actually have to choose between these things, and

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<v Speaker 1>that means you don't need to feel anty, always wondering

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<v Speaker 1>if you should be doing something else. If you've got

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<v Speaker 1>a good morning routine, I'd love to hear about it.

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<v Speaker 1>You can email me at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time.