I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing people, interview, connect and sit down with elite performers and exceptional leaders (in various fields) and there is one thing they all have in common……….…..they guard both ends of their day. Not only do they guard their routines/rituals, but they are also looking at how they can optimise them further.
They all talk about their morning ritual/routine being a key to their success.
So how should you start your day? Ultimately, that is up to you but from the people I’ve met and from my own experience you should look at finding the right balance of the following:
Routine – it’s all about building a routine and forming disciplines.
Rising Early – all the elite performers I know rise early. 4am, 5am. I haven’t met an elite performer that starts their day after 6am. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist but a common theme is they are all before this time in my experience.
No Email/No Socials/No News No Phone! – Never start your day with someone else’s agenda, someone else’s news cycle. It’s all about you and guarding your mindset and you are going to start the day.
Get The Body Moving – whether this is a full blown HIIT session, lifting heavy weights, running or a yoga session, some light Tai Chi, this is a secret to success.
Breathing Techniques / Cold Showers – this is a new one for me that I believe will pay off in the long term. Interestingly this is shared by many other performers.
The Right Fuel – getting the right food in early is vital to starting the day right.
Reflection / Meditation / Prayer – setting your mindset and tone for the day is vital. Even just 10 minutes of this per day can have huge advantages.
Gratitude – what are you grateful for? I have spoken about practicing gratitude often. It’s hard for negative emotions to invade your day early if your focus is on all the good that is in your life.
Positive Affirmations – who are you? What’s your identity? How will you move into your day? Positive affirmations are a great way to move into your day.
Self-Development – whether this be a chapter, 10 pages, audible on your commute or other content. Find a way to grow at the start of your day.
Eat The Frog! – when you are primed for your day then eat the frog! Tackle your hardest, most important thing first……always! (I’ll write more on this in a future blog)
I’ve talked about my morning routine often; I believe it fuels my success and mindset as I come into the day! It’s how I prime and prepare for my day.
My morning routine has my goals in mind, build consistency of activities and structure (ie the recipe for success) and helps my consistently execute.
In addition elite performers talk about their evening routine. How they conclude the day.
So what does an end of the day routine look like? A mix of the following is common:
Evaluate Your Day – Really evaluate your day! With evaluated experience comes learning and improvement. Consider the questions you ask yourself as with better questions comes better answers. Here is some that I would ask you to consider.
What Did I Learn?
Where Could I Improve?
Where Was I Uncomfortable Today?
What Good Have I Done Today?
How Could I Serve My Customers Better?
Where Did I Help Someone Else Win?
Where Did I Win? (finish on a high note)
Journaling – a lot of performers I know journal the above to keep a record and to help them close out the day.
Planning For The Next Day – make sure you have your schedule sorted for the next day and know which frog you are going to eat first
Get The Body Moving – similar to the start of the day, have a routine that gets your body moving and helps you to wind down, relieve stress, stay fit etc.
Have a Shutdown Ritual – build in a ritual that helps you begin to shutdown the days work. This will work wonders for your stress levels and help you be present for your family, friends etc.
Set Boundaries – This is vital. I’ve spoken before about Work/Life Integration and how I don’t believe in Work/Life balance but boundaries are important. Keep these rigid.
My evening routine is equally important and one I don’t believe I have nailed yet. I’m looking for my evening ritual to set up my following day and prime my body and mind for rest and rejuvenation. This includes shutting down my devices before bed, having a set time to go to bed and looking at other ways to find improvements in the quality of my sleep.
How you start and how your finish your day, these are the bookends of success. These should fuel your performance.
In my mind it’s all about preparation at the front end and reflection on the back end. How can I be a little bit better of a human each and every day? (in any aspect of my life)
Being deliberate is vital, it’s your life so why not maximise it each and every day.
What are your bookends of success?
Share your thoughts and feedback below.
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