Success belongs to those who get up early. Many leaders share their “morning routines”, these daily rituals that allow you to start the day on the right foot. Here are 14 morning habits of successful leaders.
It’s the big trend of the moment, not a day goes by without leaders sharing their morning routine tips. The phenomenon of “morning routines”, which came from the United States, is becoming the new organizational standard for leaders. Their work day now begins before they even have breakfast.
1In search of lost time
The injunction seems difficult to keep when you already have a busy schedule. The solution for the gurus of success and personal development is to save time before having a coffee. Inspired by the advice of management expert Laura Vanderkam, the World Economic Forum has just relayed a list of 14 “morning routines” from the Business Insider website. A summary of what successful executives and managers do. Here it is translated into French.
Get up early
The first rule if you want to save time is to get up at dawn. Because the schedule that separates you from your first coffee is going to be busy. Exemplary CEOs often open their eyes at 6 a.m., or even earlier, like Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, who starts his day at 5:30 a.m. to go for a run, or Tim Cook, the boss of Apple, who sends his first professional emails around 4:30 a.m. Richard Branson, the boss of Virgin, and Marissa Mayer, the boss of Yahoo, are also fans of what is called the “miracle morning”. The secret to getting there: don’t hit the snooze button on your alarm clock.
Drink water
Today’s leaders watch their weight. A tip to do without coffee and feel less hungry: drink water, hot or with lemon, instead of coffee. A technique also used by top models to stay slim.
Exercise
We know that marathon-running bosses are more efficient. Exercising at the crack of dawn gets the body and mind going. It’s a healthy lifestyle that you can’t do without once you start doing it, according to those who practice it. Running, doing yoga or fitness is the new morning drug for managers to stay in shape.
Work on your priority business project
In the morning, when everyone is still asleep, you have a little time to devote yourself to priority files. Your mind is wide awake and ideas come easily. The rest of your day, you can tackle tasks that require less thought. This is what we call Laborit’s law.
Work on a personal project that is close to your heart
Do you want to write a novel, but you can’t find the time? No excuses, give yourself a little time to flourish in a personal project. Passion is a driving force for fulfillment and efficiency
Spend time with your family
There is more to life than work, especially at 7 a.m. Flourishing in your career should not be at the expense of family life. Taking the time to be with your children, taking them to school, talking… it’s essential.
Connect with your partner
Having a life as a couple is not incompatible with an ambitious career (see our survey on dual-career executive couples). It’s a question of organization. Setting aside time with your other half will definitely make you happier. As Business Insider reminds us, having a fulfilled sex life makes you smarter, burns calories and even increases your income (performance is never far away…).
Make your bed
Here again, it’s proven, this morning routine is good for productivity. Not to mention that you’ll be happy to find your room tidy when you get home in the evening. After this household chore, you can take the opportunity to take a shower, if you haven’t already.
Network while having your coffee
Your smartphone in one hand, the coffee cup in the other, connect to your network that has just woken up, 2 or 3 hours after you.
Meditate
One of the other current trends among leaders is mindfulness meditation. Breathe and focus on the present moment. Again, it is good for productivity and for reducing stress.
Write down the things you are grateful for
Express your gratitude for life’s pleasures, it only takes 5 minutes. This routine allows you to see the bright side of things and celebrate the luck you have, for example, being in good health.
Plan the day
This is the time to work on your daily strategy for the workday ahead of you. You still have the clear ideas to do it. It’s time for the to-do list.
Check your emails
Checking your work emails before arriving at work is against the right to disconnect. But it is an undeniable time saver.
Stay informed
Managers often keep watch outside of working hours. During the rest of the day, meetings follow one another and it is not always possible to stay informed. The morning is again the best time to do it.
Rise with the sun (or even before it)
A 2008 study published in The Journal of General Psychology found that early risers procrastinate less than late-waking night owls. So it makes sense that many successful people throughout history are identified as early risers: Apple CEO Tim Cook, for example, rolls out of bed at 3:45 a.m. to check his emails before his 5 a.m. gym appointment. Virgin Group founder and chairman Richard Branson gets up at a slightly less ungodly hour (around 5 a.m.) to work out and spend time with his family.
I have always been an early riser,” he writes on a Virgin blog. “Over my 50 years in business, I have learned that if I rise early, I can achieve so much more in a day, and therefore in life.” Branson adds, “I find the period of quiet, before most of the world logs on, to be a great time to catch up on news and reply to emails. These early hours give me the opportunity to start each day with a fresh and organized slate.
Practice gratitude
It may come as a surprise, but after burning incense, Marie Kondo doesn’t engage in a meticulous folding session. She takes time to give thanks. “I say a prayer of thanks for the health of my family and team members, and I renew my resolve to do all I can in the day ahead,” she writes. Writing down the tasks that need to be completed for the day comes only after this moment of gratitude.
Oprah is also grateful in her morning routine. According to Harper’s Bazaar, after brushing her teeth and walking her dogs, she reads five cards from the 365 Gathered Truths. The box, on her list of favorite things of 2014, is filled with wise phrases meant to inspire those who read them.
“It’s a wonderful way to start your day,” Oprah tells Bazaar. An example of a message you could take from this box? “Wealth is not measured in dollars but by the love we make, the laughter and meals we share, the dreams we live and the hopes we raise.”
Stick to a Ritual
Light a candle, hug your partner, wash your face: It doesn’t matter how you start the day, but make it a ritual that marks the beginning of a new day and gives you the right boost. American dancer Twyla Tharp is a big believer in rituals, both for creativity and for keeping your commitments. In her book, The Creative Reflex, she details her morning routine of getting up at 5:30 a.m., getting dressed for her workout, and calling a cab to the gym.
“The ritual is not the stretches and strength exercises I put my body through every morning at the gym; the ritual is the taxi. By the time I give the driver the address of the gym, I’ve completed the ritual,” Twyla writes. “It’s a simple action, but doing it the same way every morning makes it automatic, recurring, easy to do.” This reduces the risk that I’ll skip it or do it differently. It’s one more step in my overall ritual, and one less thing to think about.”
Morning Routine Energy
A solid morning routine will give your body and mind the boost it needs to create an energy-filled day. Make sure that the early operations are those that will energize your body and mind. Starting with hydration, drink a glass of water first thing in the morning. This will rehydrate you after sleep and help kick-start your metabolism. Do light stretching or a brief yoga routine to circulate nutrients, release tension, and wake the muscles.
Start your morning with a healthy, fully balanced breakfast. Grab a mix of proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates that will keep you feeling full longer. Some examples of nutritious breakfasts would be eggs, whole-grain toast, and fruits. Avoid sugary cereals or pastries, so it won’t leave you crashing on your bed hours later.
Incorporate some meditative measures-likes mindfulness, deep breathing, or journaling-so that you can meditate and reduce stress too. This practice allows you to face your day’s events clearly. Having a filter of priorities and intention gives your mind a good sense of what it should be doing.
Finally, get a dose of natural light by going outside for a while or simply opening a window. The sunlight reminds your body to wake up and facilitates the regulation of circadian rhythms and boosts energy. These can be colleges made into a routine that fills your being with energy throughout the day.
Read also: 10 Simple Habits to Add a Glow to Your Everyday Life
