What tactics do you use to stick to your morning routine each day?
Jeremy Nagel
8 replies
I personally have found it very hard to stick to my morning routine (yoga, meditation, morning run, Chinese study) faced with the pressure of a stack of customer emails (I'm in Australia and most of my customers are in the US) when I wake up. I find once I start working, it's very hard to pull myself out and go back to what I aspired to do.
Does anyone else have this challenge? How do you deal with it? I've got a pretty hardcode solution now where I basically lock out my computer and phone until I complete my morning routine using the app I'm building (focusbear.io) but I'm keen to get some other ideas on days when I'm feeling particularly stressed.
Replies
Roberto Morais@robertomorais
I usually start working after my morning routine and I only check my email on specific times 2-3 times a day. So, my tip would be for you not even look at your emails before you finish your routine. If for some reason it's not working maybe you can reduce your routine and move part of it to a later time.
Share
@jeremy_nazgul Oh yeah, i had this issue, and sometimes I still do. Mostly for slack now. I was luck that once I got conscious of this behavior most of my emails were not urgent so I forced myself to not use email for whole days just to see it was ok. After that it became easy for me to use it a few times per day.
If most of your problem is willpower you can make it harder for you to check emails so it's easier on that. If you NEED to check it often, you will need someone to help you with it or to create a routine that works with your demands (i.e. inform your clients you answer emails between X and Y and it takes n hours to answer, than you schedule your calendar 3-4 times a day to answer those).
This is not an uncommon problem and it takes some time to adjust.
Hope it helps and good luck.
Focus Bear
@robertomorais it's partly a business issue that I need to find reliable people who I can trust to handle emails but also a neural reprogramming issue. Maybe you never had an issue with checking email/social media first thing in the morning? It has always been a problem for me (and I think a lot of people). Willpower doesn't seem sufficient for me.
WorkHub
Sticking to your routine is no easy task. It takes a lot of willpower, planning, and discipline. But you can do it just by following a few steps. Firstly, having a particular time for your morning routines is very important. It should be around the same time every day, so your body gets accustomed to it. Next is going to bed early enough. This means that you definitely should sleep at least 7 hours a day. Going to bed too late will make you feel groggy the whole day and make it hard to stick to your routines.
1. Wake up at the same time everyday
2. Have everything set-up the night before - it can be as simple as having your mug next to your coffee machine ready
3. Checking my phone and emails after I've completed my morning routine
Focus Bear
@anoirhoumou sounds good. How do you stop yourself from checking your phone/email in the morning?
@jeremy_nazgul my morning routine is 10 - 20 minutes long (short but it works for me) so it's usually enough time for me to wait a bit until I check my phone.
For me, it starts the night before by turning off my phone and setting out my clothes. I also leave a note for myself with my plans for the next day. In the morning, I wake up early and start with a cup of coffee while I review my to-do list. I then take some time to meditate and stretch before getting ready for my day.