The Ultimate Guide to Unlock Your Potential By Jumpstarting Your Morning, Work & Evening Success Routine from Scratch
"We're wired for success, but many are programmed for failure." Dr. Marquel Russell, Client Attraction University
Key Article Takeaways:
Insights into the importance of routine development.
Who do routines help, and why do successful people adopt the habit?
How to design daily morning, work, and evening success routines from scratch.
Evaluating your current routines.
In this article, we'll share insights into the importance of routine development, who routines help, and how to design daily morning, work, and evening success routines from scratch.
The Power of Routines
This may come off as a blog post about time management, but honestly, it's so much more than that. Although time management is a key component, the main thing to consider is who you are and where you want to be in life. It's about you, your mission, the result you are driven to reach, and why that goal is important to you.
Routines are a transformation hack. By instituting certain routines into our lives, we can help to change our lives for the better. When it comes to routines, there are a few key things to keep in mind:
Consistency is key,
Focus on positive routines, and
Make sure your routines are achievable.
By following these three tips, you can use routines to hack your transformation and become the best version of yourself.
It is crucial that you develop routines that serve you and not sabotage you if you want to be the architect of your own life. Routines enable you to transform yourself through practice, repetition and focus.
Routines are important and powerful.
Routines are habits that increase your chances of success by reducing decision fatigue and increasing the likelihood of achieving your goals. A habit is an action that you repeat often enough or at a specific time until it becomes automatic behavior. It’s like driving a car – at first, you had to think about every move you made, but after doing it so many times it became second nature. Successful people adopt routines because they know they improve decision-making and reduce stress.
This is why successful people have morning rituals that prepare them for the day ahead or evening rituals that allow them to unwind after a long day. These rituals allow them to focus on what matters most by removing distractions and unimportant tasks from their day-to-day lives.
Even the United States government understands this. Consider the military for example. They take people from all walks of life, backgrounds, and cultures, and in a few weeks, they train, teach, transform and trust these people into specific characters that meet the needs of the mission at hand by developing strict routines.
Routines allow us to save time by not having to make decisions. They can support you, your vision, and your goals, or they can work against what you want. Let’s be real, in most cases, bad habits and routines are the main reason why setbacks and obstacles stand between you and your goals.
Routine development is the hurdle that so many successful people had to overcome to reach their level of success. Better stress levels, sleep, and health are all benefits of holding down a solid routine.
Who Needs a Routine?
Is this you?
When you wake up you go right into getting ready for work in a panicked rush, leaving abruptly, without breakfast or nothing, with no clear understanding of how you feel or how you will manage your limited energy for the day.
Perhaps you wake up and immediately grab your phone to check social media gossip until you move out of bed and get your day started an hour later. By then, your mind has been inundated with so much irrelevant information that your day begins in a chaotic mess with no clear direction as to what you intend to accomplish.
Do either of these sounds like you?
Many people who do not have any type of routine in place suffer from stress, poor eating, and sleeping habits, poor physical condition, and are ineffective in how they use time which leads to overwhelm and more stress.
How does this sound?
Consider the following scenario. You wake up to your alarm playing your favorite song. You sit up, stretch and wake up feeling refreshed, expressing gratitude, and tuning your mind into your intentions for the day.
You step out of bed and jump right into your first success routine of the day. A routine designed to help you focus on achieving the things necessary to reach your wildest dreams. Yes, your wildest dreams!
This begs the question, what does your perfect day look like on a calendar? Have you visualized what that truly looks like for you?
Stop for a second and do that right now. Visualize your preferred reality. What does the perfect day look like for you in order to remain on track to reach your wildest dreams?
Now that you are back to your current reality let’s dive briefly into some simple steps you can take to develop a successful daily routine.
How to Design Daily Success Routines From Scratch?
The framework for building a successful routine is your mindset and habits, which in turn allow you to reach your goals, or at the very least learn when you miss your goals.
We all have routines, but few of us actually chose our routines. We just seem to fall into them, and we keep our routines unless they’re obviously failing.
Your current routines might be okay, but are they bringing you closer to your goals? Do they support your values and priorities? In this article, our goal is to help you examine your daily routines and determine how well they serve you.
Can you make some small changes here and there that would enable them to serve you better? Even a small alteration in a routine can make a big difference because they’re performed consistently. Over time, these actions add up.
Step One: Get your mind right!
Let’s eliminate a false belief off the bat. It does not take years to develop routines. You can develop a new routine in a day if you really want to.
What actually takes time is turning that routine into a habit. Yet even still, that part does not take years. It can happen in a matter of months, even weeks, if you’re serious about the transformation you seek. But you only make it that far with the right mindset. A growth mindset.
Step Two: Get your tools right!
Routines do not work unless you do. However, they do work really well when you have the right tools in place to keep you on track. These include calendars, planners, and my favorite, journals. Scheduling your activities in your planner and on your calendar, especially when you first begin your new routine, is a must if you want to get the most out of developing the habit. Holding yourself accountable is a skill that can be practiced each day you stick to your scheduled routine.
This is not to say that things don’t come up that shift the day. This is normal. It is not necessary to be rigid with your time. Allow room for flexibility. But in creating a routine for yourself you are demonstrating the importance of the number one asset, you, and number two, your time.
So, here’s what you can do to begin the journey of transforming yourself into developing the routines that serve you and not sabotage you. Ask yourself the following questions about your morning, work, and evening routines.
Morning Routines
Morning Success Routine. From the time your alarm goes off until you’re out the front door, what do you do? The success or failure of your day can depend on what side of the bed you wake up on.
Have you ever heard somebody excuse their behavior on the way they woke up? They say things like “I woke up on the wrong side of the bed”. The truth is, what they are actually saying is my morning routine is whack and from the time I wake up my environment has control over how I function throughout the day.
Consider the following questions when mapping out your morning routine.
What time do you get up? How many times does your alarm go off first?
What do you think about while lying in bed?
What is your start-up ritual? Meaning, what is the activity that you do to get your day officially started? Do you drink water first thing? Do you scroll social media for 30 minutes to an hour?
What do you have for breakfast?
Do you do anything besides eat and prepare for work? What do you do? Are you doing those things optimally?
How much time do you waste that you could be used productively?
Your morning routine should not be just any routine, it should be designed to set you off on having a successful day. Whatever that may look like to you. Your morning success routine is how you take back control of how you move through the day.
If you're someone who struggles with mornings or just feels like they're not as productive as they could be, then implementing a morning success routine can be a game-changer. It doesn't have to be anything complicated or time-consuming, but just something that gets you focused and into a productive mindset for the day ahead.
Morning routines can look different for everyone, but some things that could be included are making your bed as soon as you get up, eating a healthy breakfast, spending some time outside in the fresh air, and getting organized for the day ahead. Taking just 10-15 minutes for yourself in the morning can make a world of difference in how your day goes.
Don't underestimate the power of a good morning routine! It can be the key to having a successful and productive day.
Work Routines
Or as we like to call them, Income Producing Routines.
Whether you are employed or self-employed, the activities you participate in on a day-to-day basis to bring in income are obviously important to the lifestyle you live.
For most people, this part of the routine is mapped out for us by our employers. They tell when to show up, when to eat, when to break, and when to leave. For others, and I’m talking to my entrepreneur friends, that responsibility falls on us. However, work routines go beyond the actual shift you work.
Consider the following:
How long is the commute to and from work? Don’t forget to account for traffic too.
Are you taking the optimal route to work (if necessary)?
Do you get gas before work or after?
How do you use the time in your car?
How early do you arrive at work?
How often do you stay late and why?
How much time do you waste at work?
Entrepreneurs, are your day-to-day operations planned and scheduled on your calendar by the task?
If you want to be successful, you need to make the most of your work routine. By having a set work routine, we can minimize distractions and optimize our time to get the most out of our workday. This means being organized and efficient in your work habits. It also means taking advantage of opportunities to learn and grow. Additionally, routines help to eliminate procrastination by holding us accountable to ourselves and our goals. By making the most of your work routine, you can set yourself up for success.
Evening Routine
Evening Pre-Game Success Routine. Priming yourself to have a good day does not just start when you wake up. It surprisingly begins the evening before. Therefore, having an evening routine in place is just as important to having a successful and productive day as your morning success routine.
When you understand how you spend your time after work, you can better understand how your mornings go the next day.
Consider the following questions when creating a successful nightly routine.
Think about your household chores and the time you spend with your family. Are you making time to create positive memories with your loved ones?
What hobbies do you spend time on to relax and unwind?
How do you use the time just before bed?
What is your wind-down ritual? This could be reading a book, or listening to soothing music.
Do you write down your top-level goal for the next day and the three action steps you’ll take to make progress toward it?
What time is "lights out"?
With a proactive pre-bedtime routine in place, you could teach yourself a language or a new skill that could help your career.
Your evening pregame success routine is important but also ensure that you are getting the rest you need to have an energetic and productive day. Your brain and body need rest to function at a high level. It is recommended that 8 hours of sleep is what’s needed to make the most use of your energy on a day-to-day basis, so do your best to get your rest.
How To Evaluate Your Current Routines
When you consider your daily routines also think about how much time you allot to yourself.
Alongside your professional growth and income-producing activities, do you have personal growth activities scheduled in your daily activities? These can include spiritual, physical, and mental health activities designed to give you the energy and motivation required to get through your daily routine feeling like you can accomplish whatever life throws at you.
What is your general impression of your current routines? Are there any obvious weaknesses or places where you’d like to do something differently?
As you answer these questions consider what you currently do as well as visualize what your perfect day looks like to you.
I also recommend that you make journaling a part of your routine. You can start by writing your answers to these questions in a sacred place so that you can answer the questions without overthinking and come back to reflect on them later.
Identify wasted time. Look at your routines and determine how much time you’re wasting each day. Include all non-value activities, like watching TV. You might be shocked by the number of hours you’re wasting. Start thinking about how you could better use that time.
Examine your goals, values, and priorities. Take a few minutes to jot these down. It’s not really possible to evaluate a routine without having criteria to evaluate against. This is an important step. If you don’t know what’s important to you and what you want to accomplish, you’re undoubtedly wasting a lot of time.
Also, consider the challenges you’re currently facing in your life. Are your routines helping, harming, or having no effect on solving your challenges?
Now, go back and create routines that make sense for you. Consider your current challenges and goals:
What activities can you do each day that supports what you’re trying to accomplish?
What can you do each day that will move you closer to your goals?
What is the best way to use your time in each of your routines?
You might be able to accomplish more in the morning than just getting to work on time. What do you want to accomplish and why?
Do Your Routines Serve You or Sabotage You?
Humans are hardwired to be programmed. That’s how our brains function. You can accomplish anything with the right programming and effective routines.
So why not use this to your advantage?
It's a simple truth that routines help your mind transform into an unstoppable powerhouse of motivation. You can get it done. It's just a matter of staying mindful and taking action on the necessary steps to get there, one routine at a time.
If you want to radically improve your life, start by establishing routines. They are a powerful tool because they help you automatically do the things you need to do to reach your objectives. Instead of having to rely on willpower and discipline to stay on track, routines make it easy to stay focused and make progress.
If you're serious about making a change in your life, start by implementing some simple routines. You'll be amazed at how effective they can be in helping you achieve your goals.
"We are what we repeatedly do." - Aristotle
Now that you have some new tips and strategies to help you develop your success routines implement what you need to make the most of your daily routines.
Take Action Now
Your life doesn't have to be so chaotic, you know?
In our work, we've seen many people who struggle with low self-esteem and self-confidence, who are unable to take clear action on their goals and dreams. That's because they are so caught up in the thoughts in their head that they don't know how to act on what they want. They're stuck in analysis paralysis — they can't make a decision because they're too busy thinking about it!
Do you need more help in mapping out your success routines to meet a specific and significant goal?
Ensure you join our mailing list to get the latest on upcoming masterclasses design to walk you through the step-by-step process of building your personal success routines. We will be announcing the next class very soon.
Before you dip, I want to say congratulations on taking your personal growth seriously and making it a priority. Congratulations on joining our mailing list. Manifesting this into existence for you, congratulations on reaching your wildest dreams. You deserve nothing less if you decide to put the work in.
As always, Grow On Purpose and remember to Just BeU.
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