Is Your Morning Routine Working Against You?

If you chase the advice of every morning routine guru on the Internet, you won’t get any meaningful work done until noon. And by then, you’ll be too exhausted to focus on work that matters.

So here’s a better idea. Instead of wasting half the day preparing to do your best work, why not just get up and get busy on your goals?

The best morning routine isn’t a routine. It’s just work.

How else do you think things get done?

But I gotta hit the gym!

I’m not saying don’t go to the gym. But does it need to be the first thing you do? Is your number one, most important, do-it-or-die goal to be jacked?

Good health is important. You need energy and vitality to chase those dreams, right?

I don’t know. I’ve been battling serious health issues for six years, and I still get up every morning and get straight to work. Even when I’ve been in the hospital, which is more times than I can count, I’ve had my laptop, my notebooks, my research materials, and everything else I need to work on my goals.

Because it’s the work that matters. If you aren’t working on your goals, you’ll never achieve them.

Am I dissing exercise? Am I saying good health doesn’t matter? Of course not. I’ll admit the health issues I’ve suffered have slowed me down. But they haven’t stopped me.

What I see stopping people isn’t poor health, it’s focusing too much on preparation and too little on execution. That’s what an overzealous morning routine can do.

So you want to go to the gym. That’s fine. You want to drink apple cider vinegar. Bottoms up. You want to meditate for six hours, run 20 miles, and write in your gratitude journal. Great.

I’m not saying don’t do those things. I’m just saying don’t do them first. Spending too much time on things that don’t drive your goals forward makes it more likely you’ll procrastinate on the things that do.

Win the morning and win the day

You’ve heard the phrase “Win your morning and you win your day.” True enough.

But how do you win the morning?

By getting up and getting to work. By knocking out the most important tasks first. The tasks that move the needle toward your biggest, most important goals.

Everything you do that moves you closer to your goals is a win. And those wins create positive momentum to propel you through the rest of the day.

You hit the gym smiling, knowing you’re that much closer to your dreams.

Your meditation is easier because your mind isn’t cluttered with undone tasks.

The apple cider vinegar might even taste better, but don’t quote me on that.

Escaping the distraction trap

Extensive morning routines create two types of distraction.

First, each step in that fancy morning routine distracts you from the real work that powers your goals.

Second, it can be more difficult to stay focused on the morning routine if your mind is distracted by the goal-driven work you aren’t getting done.

But by reversing the order of operations, you’ve escaped both types of distraction and created positive momentum toward living your best life.

And you’ve created one more thing, which might be my favorite.

Guilt-free evenings

Of all the advantages to the get up and work routine, this might be the best. Your evenings will be guilt-free.

Knowing you’ve crushed your most important tasks, you’re free to spend your evenings any way you like without feeling guilty about things left undone.

Enjoy a nice dinner with friends. Watch a movie. Read a book. Spend time with your significant other. Whatever you do, you can do it fully focused on the moment and the people you’re with.

Then, once all that is done, take a few minutes to write down your most important tasks for the next day. Spend a little time visualizing yourself getting them done, then get a good 7–9 hours of deep, peaceful sleep.

Trust me, it works

I used to do the whole morning routine thing. But since switching to the get up and work method, the changes have been enormous.

1. I accomplish in a day what used to take a week

2. More of my work has been published in more places

3. I’ve earned more money

4. I’ve lived a more peaceful life

5. I’ve had more spare time, or maybe it just seems that way because my spare time is less distracted

And I’ve still managed to get all those other things in. Exercise, prayer and meditation, inspirational reading … I have missed out on the apple cider vinegar, but I was missing out on that before.

Will it work for you? The proof is in the porridge. Try it out for a month and let me know.