I've named the header after an article I read today on Forbes: 7 Things Wildly Successful People Do Before 7:30 a.m.
The article highlights seven routines that some of the most successful leaders around the globe have in common during their early hours.
Although, multiple articles already exist trying to explain the relationship between routines and success, I always find these articles quite fun to read and relate to.
Here's a quick sum up on the seven morning routines:
1. Drink lemon water
Drinking lemon water as soon as you wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally. By improving nutrient absorption in your stomach, it gives you a steady, natural energy buzz that lasts the length of the day.
2. Exercise
Getting your body moving for as little as 10 minutes releases GABA, a neurotransmitter that makes your brain feel soothed and keeps you in control of your impulses. Exercising first thing in the morning ensures that you’ll have the time for it, and it improves your self-control and energy levels over the course of the entire day.
3. Disconnect
When you wake up and dive straight into e-mails, texts, and Facebook, you are far more likely to lose focus, and your morning succumbs to the wants and needs of other people.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast
A healthy breakfast gives you stable blood-sugar levels, energy, improves your short-term memory, and helps you to concentrate more intensely and for longer periods.
5. Practice mindfulness
Research shows that mindfulness fights off stress by reversing the fight-or-flight response, improves your ability to focus, boosts creativity, and increases your emotional intelligence (EQ).
6. Set goals for the day
When you plan out your day as carefully as possible, your chances of successfully accomplishing your goals skyrocket.
(This point alligns well with @geoffblades" post: How The Most Successful CEOs Set Goals posted earlier this week.)
7. Say no
No is a powerful word, which will protect your precious mornings. Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments, and your morning time is an important commitment.
How many of you monkeys can relate to some (maybe all) of these morning routines? How many of you believes they are straight up gibberish and have other well-founded routines to starts of a great day?
