Tell me if you’ve been there:
You wake up, snatch your phone off the nightstand & immediately start scrolling through Gmail & Instagram DMs. Before you know it, you’re an hour into your day and you’ve done nothing for yourself (but you have responded to client emails and devoured an entire Facebook comment-thread argument). As a result, you feel frazzled, behind and practically shot for the day (and it’s not even 8 a.m.).
If this sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.
As they say, “how you start your day is how you live your life” and honestly, I couldn’t agree more. And that’s exactly why I decided to write this post on one of my very favorite topics: a solid morning routine.
Here’s the deal: A well-structured, purposeful morning routine can set the tone for your entire day, boost your productivity like crazy, and help you achieve your business–and life–goals much more quickly. That said, many entrepreneurs don’t know exactly what to do during their morning to best set themselves up for success.
In this post, we’ll explore six quick tips & unique pointers to help you create a successful morning routine as an entrepreneur:
1) Set an Intention
First things first: What do you want to get out of your morning routine? More time to yourself? A few hours to read in peace? Dedicated space to daydream about the future of your business? These few precious hours before your day officially starts are all yours–so it’s important you decide what you most want to do with them.
Every entrepreneur creates their morning routine a bit differently depending on their unique goals and preferences. Maybe you want to use it to soak in extra self-care, take action on your personal goals (like exercising or reading more books) or maybe you just want to tackle your most important (and often ignored) business tasks. Regardless, having a clear purpose in mind will help you choose exactly which activities to include in your morning routine.
If you’re not sure where to start, peek at your current goals and reverse engineer your morning routine based on the top 3 outcomes you want to achieve right now. (And remember, you can always tweak your routine as your goals change!
2) Wake Up Earlier
It sounds cliché, but waking up earlier is (usually) a vital ingredient in a successful morning routine. If you’re struggling to ‘fit in’ #allthethings you want to do before work right now, odds are adding a few extra minutes or hours to your morning will help a lot. Carving out and fiercely protecting this sacred time can do wonders for your mood & productivity for the day. (Even night owls tend to find that having an extra hour in the A.M. to work on your personal and business goals without interruptions is a game-changer.)
That said, figure out what a realistic wake-up time is for you and what you need to do to make it happen. Do you need to hit the hay an hour earlier? Do you need to ask your partner with help with the kiddos a few days a week?
3) Prioritize Self-Care
The quiet wee morning hours – before the kids are freaking out about where their bookbags are and your phone starts pinging with ceaseless notifications – is the perfect time to sneak in a little (or a lot of) self-care.
Self-care not only boosts your mental and physical well-being but also enhances your creativity and decision-making abilities – which means you’ll be a better business owner (and human) all day long as a result.
Like I said, you don’t have to use this time for self-care, but if it’s one of your goals, go ahead & brainstorm 1-3 activities you can work into your morning to help you stay on top of your mental or physical game. Whether you’re a meditation girlie (or want to be!), an elliptical queen or just want a few extra minutes to sip your morning tea in peace, if self-care is your goal, the morning is the perfect time to ensure you get it in.
And don’t forget that self-care definitely doesn’t just mean bubbles baths and manicures. Self-care also includes the not-so-fun-but-very-necessary stuff, like scheduling routine appointments, paying the bills and–dare I say it–flossing your teeth, too.
4) Focus on Your Own Goals
One of the biggest reasons morning routines work is because they provide you with focused, uninterrupted time to do what you want – or need – to do in order to further your personal & professional goals. And while you could knock out client work or admin tasks in the morning, the truth is, focusing on your own goals and desires – rather than squeezing in more client work or admin tasks – is generally going to give you the biggest boost of fulfillment.
That said, you can definitely do ‘work’ during your morning routine. What are the things you don’t normally have time for in a regular day that you wish you did? Alternatively, what are the activities you know you need to get done, but always seem to get pushed to the backburner (like, maybe, writing blog posts, so you can start using Pinterest more and Instagram less)?
5) Use it to Plan, Strategize and Vision
Your morning routine is also the perfect time to tackle big picture thinking and long-term planning for your business. You can use the extra time in your morning to plan & prioritize your tasks for the day or week, or to journal your vision for your business (and personal) future. Some online entrepreneurs call this “CEO Time” and honestly, it’s a non-negotiable for me.
6) Don’t Try to Do Too Much
Real talk: You likely won’t be able to fit everything you want to do each morning into your allotted time – you do have other things to do (and work to dive into), obviously. So, if you’re new to morning routines, simply choose 1-3 activities that make the most sense for your goals and preferences, and allow yourself to experiment with a particular routine for a month or two before tweaking it or adding on a new activity. Implement one new habit at a time (like 10 minutes of journaling) – and go from there.
Use these simple tips as a starting point for crafting your own unique morning routine and give your A.M. hours a makeover. Trust me when I say your mornings – and life – will never be the same (and thank goodness for that, am I right?).
