Routine Matters — What I Learned By Getting Up At 6 am Every Day
I needed a routine so I could meet my goals. However, the standard “millionaire routines” just didn’t work for me. So I created my own.
I am frequently asked — Why do you get up at 6 am every day? Indeed, I don’t have to get up at 6 am every day. Also, I love the quietness of the night when the entire house is dark and chill so I can do my work in peace. However, not sleeping enough had a serious impact on my health, I couldn’t meet my deadlines and I was constantly anxious and triggered. Staying late also took a toll on my overall appearance because I was snacking late at night and not drinking enough water so I gained a few pounds and the dark circles around my eyes turned black. On top of this, I had issues if I had to get up early and go somewhere and I got to a point where I would sleep until 4 pm and in winter I didn’t even see the sun.
So I decided that enough is enough and I started voraciously reading every single guide and book I could find talking about “the perfect night and morning routine”, “the routine that sets you up for success”, “get a billionaire mindset with this routine”, “the morning routing which made XXX a CEO”. I have to admit these titles were attractive and captivating but the text was subpar. They all focused on the same activities and guides and sounded like repetition and nobody guaranteed that this is the exact same thing XXX would do or don’t do.
In the beginning, I tried all hacks, waking up at 5 am, cold showers, exercise, don’t eat this, don’t drink that, journal, meditate, read 15 min when you wake up, eat organic oats for breakfast and so forth.
I will be honest, these are great tips and at the same time, they are all one big lie. People are different and therefore copying somebody’s routine will not work.
So after living for a week like Bil Gates, following 5 am club rules of Robin Sharma, adopting Elon Musk’s willpower and discipline for 14 days, and trying a bunch of crazy things I finally came up with my routine.
So what is the secret?
Consistency and patience.
The perfect routine doesn’t exist and if you try to copy somebody else you will be unhappy. Yes, you can adopt a few tricks here and there from people who are successful and famous because they got where they are thanks to following a set of rules but you also shouldn’t forget that those people have a team of advisers, psychologists, doctors, and managers who analyze data and tell them what is good and what is not good. On the other side, you and I may not have the same luxury. However, we all know what works best for our bodies and souls.
Therefore, after experimenting for 1 year I found out that I work best when I wake up at 6 am. Waking up this early taught me to value the small things in life like the sun and birds, the calmness of a hot August day, and the beauty of the untouched snow in winter. Another thing that I learned was not the beat myself up if I can’t do something these highly successful people do. For example, every “best” routine suggests exercising or jogging right after you wake up but this doesn’t work for me. I am tired after the exercise and all I want to do is to roll in my bed and sleep. I was guilt-tripping myself so much about this. I went on runs, bought a yoga mat and weights to do home exercises, paid gym membership, signed up with a personal trainer and the result was always the same — after an exercise, I want to take a shower and sleep.
I am not going to share my routine here because it is custom made for my needs and my lifestyle but I want to share some tips that I learned along the way. Here they are:
- Do your research.
Spend some time studying other people’s routines, practices, and guides.
2. Don’t be afraid to try new things
Always try and test tips that you come across the way as you never know if something is a hit or miss until you do it yourself.
3. Analyze your day
Before committing to something long term analyze your typical day so you know how much work you can do, what tasks you do daily, identify habits and patterns in your life.
4. Write down your goals
Your routine should help you achieve your goals. But you need to know your goals in the first place. So write down everything you want to accomplish in 24h, 1 week, and 1 month. (you can plan as long term as you want)
5. Be persistent
You can write and design and analyze as much as you want but nothing will bring you results if you are not committed to it 100%.
Do you have a morning/evening routine? Please share your favorite hacks and habits in the comments below so we can all get inspired.
