Start it right!

KIMZO

Feb 20, 2023 • 6 min read

Hello friends,

I am working on the most important blog post I've ever written. It is actually so meaningful, that I decided to write a second one (this one here) and move it one week ahead. It will be an XXL Post about the process of living the life you want. I will challenge your belief. Trust me on that.

But today we are going to talk about a topic, that is a bit simpler than building your dream life: Building a morning routine.

This is a topic that came to my mind as my girlfriend proudly and happily told me about her morning routine. And while she told me about that, I remembered that earlier in my life, I thought that having a morning routine is bullshit.

But that isn't the case.

Most people press the shit out of the snooze button in the morning until it's nearly too late. They sprint out to their car or to the bus, having not eaten breakfast and without any energy (at least they got their coffee or energy drink) and then proceed with their day. Obviously, those people aren't in the best mood.

A good morning routine makes you start the day in a good mood, with a lot of energy and ready to save the world.

You should all have one.

The power of your morning

We will start with the best part: The morning is the only time of the day that nobody can somehow steal you. You have your morning routine that you can follow. You have time. It's your time. No one will distract you.

So with that, I'll give you the best tip ever for your overall focus: Your phone doesn't belong in your bedroom. Buy a normal alarm clock and make sure your phone is outside your room when you go to bed. Thank me later.

Your morning is here to build momentum. Most people don't have a morning routine. This is something that should be changed. If you truly want to do all the important things in your life, you need to dedicate some time to build this momentum that will carry you through the day.

I have a job where I have to be very flexible about how I want to work. And for that, I have a morning routine that is always the same, but it takes some time. I'm going to show you my morning routine in a nutshell.

Waking up 1.5 hours before going to school/work by the alarm clock in my room.
Going in bathroom
30 Push-ups to get myself to feel something physically (through exercise)
Shower (including cold shower periods of about 20 seconds)
Making yourself ready (clothing, skincare etc.)
Going back in my room to meditate for 15 min
Dedicating myself 30-45 min in the morning to creative work (blog writing, producing music, creative writing)
Eating breakfast
Brushing teeth
Away we go

With a routine like that, I make sure that I can be working on the most important task first in the morning (the creative part). I have build momentum for the whole day already. Nothing can stop me.

By adding the push-ups, you have something physical that makes your body awake. Nothing makes you more awake than sport in the morning, whatever it may be.
Showering is also a key element of getting yourself awake in the morning asap.
Meditation is a little harder for me personally in the morning, but it creates this focus that I don't want to miss for the day.
Already working on something that is important to me makes the morning so worth it. In the evening, I know that I have already done the essential work.
Eat breakfast. Even if it's just something light, it's a game changer.
If you aren't addicted to caffeine yet, never drink coffee or energy drinks in the morning. Getting addicted to that would suck.

A morning routine is powerful. It makes sure that your day will be amazing and that you can do all the important things in your day. It allows you to dedicate 100% of yourself to this day.

“Days are expensive. When you spend a day, you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely.” — Jim Rohn

Building your own routine

Your morning routine starts the evening before your morning routine. So before you start building a morning routine, you need an evening routine:

Prepare your bags so you can just grab them and go
Prepare your clothes (for example in the bathroom)
Make sure you activated your alarm clock
Make sure that whatever else you need in the morning is in the right place

When you wake up, you won't have too much energy yet to clearly think (especially in the beginning). If you prepare a few things the evening before, you are making it easier for yourself.

And with an easy to do morning routine, it will also take less time until you are actually doing it and creating one for your life.

Here are a few inspirations that you can do to improve your morning routine:

Drink water
Stop checking your phone
Write a daily to-do list
Eat breakfast
Shower
Quick exercise
Meditate
Journal
Read

So with that put aside, you create a morning/evening routine step by step.

Start by only changing one thing at a time. Just put your clothing at the right spot. Just do the push-ups. Just do whatever you feel has the most impact. Start small and grow it bigger over time.

And as a side note: Not everyone is made for a long morning routine. It's best to start small anyway, and then scale it up over time to find out, what works best for you.

My challenge for you

Firstly, I want you to buy an alarm clock (if you don't already use one).

Then I want you to create an evening routine: Before going to bed or going into your room to do whatever you want, you will put your phone somewhere that is neither in your room nor in the bathroom.

Put it somewhere where you won't reach it until you are done with your routine and about to leave your house.

This will massively improve the focus you have through the day. Try it out and thank me later.

Then try to add more and more habits to your morning routine over time.

My Song of the week

A Sky Full Of Stars. I really got into the Coldplay mood again, and I think this might challenge my favourite Coldplay song, Viva La Vida.