There is a definite correlation between achieving our Goals and our morning routine, and it should support our pursuit of our Goals. A morning route is what you do in the morning from when you get up until you leave or start work. The end point is up to you. A typical morning routine for a under-achieve could be something like this:

• The alarm goes off. He fumbles for the snooze button. Repeat 3 or 4 times. Or just turn it off completely and fall asleep.
• The eyes open. Look for the alarm/phone in panic mode to see what time it is. “I fell asleep!”
• Run to the shower, get dressed quickly, and run to the kitchen for coffee and maybe a quick bite to eat.
• Hurry looking for the job board, making sure it has everything. I can’t find the shoes or the car keys.
• For coffee in the travel mug, bag and keys, say goodbye to the family and rush to work. Get stuck in traffic.
• Arriving late at the office and being in a bad mood all day.

Does any of that sound familiar to you? I know some of that does it for me.

A good morning routine begins the night before. It takes no more than 10 minutes to pack your work bag, put your shoes and keys where you can find them, and lay out the clothes you’ll wear in the morning. When you’re in a rush, these things take at least twice as long because you’re focused on the fact that you’re late. Next, move the alarm to your dresser or somewhere where you have to get out of bed to turn it off. Leave your phone with your job board if you don’t have a job that requires you to be on call at night. Go to bed early. Give yourself 7-8 hours of sleep time before your alarm goes off. Choose the amount that suits you best and stick with it.

When the alarm sounds, you have to get out of bed to turn it off. Make sure it’s a loud, annoying alarm, not a soft chime that lulls you to sleep. Do NO go back to bed. Ideally, you should exercise now. You can do 5 minutes hard to start. Get your heart rate up and hopefully break a sweat. Even if it’s stretching and jumping, you can do something. Increase your exercise time until you are doing 30 minutes or more. If you have time. Start getting up a little earlier every day. Shower and dress for the day. Eat breakfast at a leisurely pace, even if it’s just toast. When you’re done, grab your work bag, keys and anything else you need and head to work 15 minutes early. If you work from home, you can start 15 minutes earlier.

This sets you up for a fantastic day. Exercising in the morning can make all the difference in the world for your day. You are energized and you have already achieved something. Your morning goes from a rushed mess to an orderly time of successful actions and habit building. There is so much more you can do with your morning routine. Take a walk around the neighborhood, for example. Spend 5 or 10 minutes in prayer or contemplation. Write in your journal. Spend 15 minutes or more on your side hustle. Each and every one of these things set the tone for the day. You have accomplished something or several things before starting your work day. You are not grumpy and obsessed with how badly the day started.

You have prepared yourself to start working and working on your goals.