Let’s face it. It’s a struggle for everyone getting out of bed in the morning. The alarm goes off, and off again for the alarm you set for two minutes later because you knew you wouldn’t get up. You know it’s something you have to work on… but getting out of bed is hard! Many people make it harder for themselves than it really needs to be. What if I told you there was a way you can look forward to getting out of bed every morning? Here’s how just a few extra minutes can prevent a bad start to a day by having a daily routine.
The importance of structure in your day
Discipline is built through many factors, and takes time to build; but structure can make building discipline 1,000 times easier. I talk to so many people who want to achieve great things, but don’t want to do what it takes. I talk about this more in my article about The Uncommon Mentality. By simpling having a structured daily or morning routine, you can start your day off disciplined and productive. This will make you willing to do those things you don’t want to do. All it takes is some extra time in the morning. Wake up with purpose and start your day on the right foot.
Morning routine
In order to get up in the morning, there has to be something more than just an alarm clock to get you up. Everyone has an purpose, and if you know what that purpose is, that is what should be waking you up. If there was nothing to wake up for, or something you dread doing that you wake up for… why get up? If you dislike your job or school and you don’t like that to be the first thing you wake up for, then do something before that! Find something that you have a purpose for that can be your internal alarm clock. Sometimes we truly are tired and want to sleep later, but having something you actually want to do as part of your morning routine can help you stay off that snooze button.
An example of this can be as simple as a morning cup of coffee. Do you like to enjoy your coffee in the morning, but you’re always rushing out the door with it in a travel mug, and then you still have some left two hours later? One small modification can be waking up 10 minutes earlier to have that coffee and actually enjoying it, and using its caffeine to its full effect. Instead of waking up and thinking “gotta go to work…,” you can think “I get to have coffee!” This is just one small change that can set you on the right track.
Making time for your daily routine
Theres only so much time in the day, but essentially, it can be broken down into two categories:
- Time you can control.
- Time you can’t control.
Some events take place daily like a 9-5 job, school, or making dinner for the family. This is time you can’t control. It’s already scheduled, and you don’t operate on your time, but rather someone elses. Time you can control includes things like your fitness, hobbies, or time with friends. You can schedule these on your own terms and block time out for them throughout the day.
YOUR time, not someone elses.
Many people let the things they can’t control dictate their lives. I found that if I structure my day around things I want to do, I feel more free, and I earn so much more time back. Let me explain. If you get the things done that matter to you most before everything else, you’ll base your day around that one thing. If you go to the gym before work, you’re not waking up for work, you’re waking up for the gym. This means you don’t have to stress all day at work wondering ‘will I get that workout in today?’ This also changes the way you view your time, because now you wake up in the morning for your time, not someone elses. Control your time like you would your car. Don’t let someone else take the wheel!
Wasting your time
Wasting time is the biggest thing holding everyone back. Period. Time is the one limiting factor holding back how much you can do in this world. It’s up to you to make the most of it. With dopamine more accessable than ever before, in the palm of our hands, our minds have been rewired to crave quick dopamine hits instead of dopamine that comes from actually doing things that you enjoy or make you feel accomplished. Quick dopamine doesn’t usually come from anything productive, but dopamine earned through working is productive. If you can discipline yourself to shut down the quick dopamine sources and replace them with productive ones, you will find so much more time in your day, and you will be productive. This is a crucial component of time management and creating your routine.
So, how should you craft your daily routine?
Here’s an outline of how you can optimize your daily routine to reach your goals by gradually integrating discipline.
First thing in the morning
The best investment that anyone can make is in themselves. I’ve learned this through my own weight loss transformation, as the time and effort I’ve put into myself to reach my fitness goals is more valueable than anything else I could be spending my time or money on. This is why I highly stress to people that fitness is the perfect thing to do in the morning. Especially if you dread working out, which some people do, doing this first thing in the morning or some time before your daily committment will allow you to come home and relax or do whatever else you want, like spend time with family or have time to work on a hobby.
Pre-work
Giving yourself extra time to get places will allow you to arrive places on time and worry-free. Having your daily routine locked in from the start of the day means you won’t have to worry about being late. Having the stress of not knowing if you’re going to make it to work on time every day is draining, and might result in consequences in the workplace (fired!). These few minutes can be “bought,” essentially, like cutting out the Instagram doomscrolling or other unnecessary time on social media, and waking up for something purposeful.
Lunchtime
Especially if you’re trying to hit your fitness goals, having the time to cook good food for yourself is hard to come by. When I started meal prepping, I found myself having so much more time around lunchtime. Making all your meals for the week on one day simplifies the lunch process by only having to warm up your food, and not having to spend the time, energy, mental strain, and money of making or getting food around lunchtime.
It never seems like theres enough time for lunch at work or school, so being able to put a meal in the microwave for two and a half minutes saves the time of having to make or get food the morning of or on the spot. Meal prepping doesn’t have to be hard, and can be done for every meal and snack. Do it once, and you don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the week!
Here’s a great recipe from Meal Plan Addict for Philly Cheesesteak Ground Beef. It’s an easy, high protein recipe, and it’s one of the first ones I made in my meal prep career.
Post-work
Now that you’ve already gotten your workout in, you can come home, have dinner, and spend time with family, friends, or, sometimes even better, solo. Since you’ve managed your time properly, you’ll have time for whatever you please to do at night.
Sustaining your daily routine
A routine is something that can be done every single day, even on rest days. If you’re routine requires you to get to bed at 10PM and wake up at 2AM, it won’t be sustainable (at least healthily.) The best way to start with a new routine is to gradually ease in certain elemements. Don’t change everything all at once, because it’ll seem impossible. For the first few days, try waking up earlier and working out. Then after those days, introduce a new task after work. And then start meal prepping. Essentially, gradually find ways to add more time to your day. Discipline is aquired through trial-and-error.
Do with this information what you will, but the most important part of having a structured, daily routine is making time to invest in yourself, so you can have time in your hands again, which is time you can spend doing the things you want to do, not what someone else wants you to do.
