Response Magic 
12
Morning Routines That Top Entrepreneurs Execute Daily
By: Sujan Patel
Your morning routine needs
work. Improve it by learning from these top entrepreneurs.
Greatness doesn't happen
by accident.
Industry leaders don't
just roll out of bed, fix whatever they find in the cupboards for breakfast,
and then head to the office to tackle whatever pops up in their inboxes.
They plan. They prepare.
And they execute.
Psychologist Roy F.
Baumeister, in his book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, suggests that our willpower is greatest in the
morning.
There's also the morning cortisol awakening
response that sends a surge of this stress hormone throughout
our bodies roughly 20-30 minutes after getting up, giving us the energy needed
to tackle important tasks first thing.
But you didn't come here
for the science.
You already know that your
morning routine needs work.
If you're ready to
optimize this critical daily period, take a lesson from these 12
morning routines of leading entrepreneurs:
1. Meditate.
"I meditate every
morning, whether through doing yoga, reading chakra affirmations, or listening
to Tibetan singing bowls. Meditation helps to keep my mind clear so that I can
focus." -- Nichole Elizabeth DeMer, community growth at Inbound.org
2. Focus in on your
priorities.
"Every morning, before
doing anything, I open the Notes app on my phone, where I've written down the
mission for my business and life.
I read it aloud to myself.
I then take a few minutes to quietly think about why this matters to me, the
progress I've made and the things I'm grateful for. I then move on to reviewing
the top one to three things I aim to accomplish that day." -- Danny Halarewich, founder
and CEO at LemonStand
3. Set goals for your day
and week.
"I set my goals for the
week on Monday morning and set the two-to-three major to-dos everyday at 7
a.m. When my day gets hectic (as it always does), I can always circle back to
my two-to-three to-dos and refocus." -- Dan Murphy, VP business
development at Import.io
4. Plan your day in the shower.
"While I'm showering, I
mentally plan out everything I need to get done for the day, and then I do the
same for everything I want to get done. I try hard to keep the rest of my day
plan-free, and just take each day as it comes."-- Colin Mathews, co-founder atContent Marketer
5. Make time to
brainstorm.
"The first thing I do
every morning is drink a cup of Yerba Mate, which is immediately followed-up
with a 10-minute undisturbed, creative brainstorming session. The goal is to
come up with an original idea, related to my job or not. I want something to
get me thinking, keep me inspired and motivated before I get bogged down
responding to team emails. If you can keep those thoughts going while you're
preparing breakfast or commuting to work, you've accomplished something." -- Paul Shapiro, director of search at Catalyst/GroupM
6. Make a perfect cup of
coffee.
"I'd like to say I
meditate each morning, but I don't. Instead, my morning meditation is making a
perfect cup of pour-over coffee. Not only does the coffee wake my body up, but
the process of getting the grind right, heating the water to exactly 204 degrees,
and brewing by hand wakes up the creative side of my brain. It's nice to
"make" something from scratch to start your day." -- Chuck Longanecker, founder atDigital
Telepathy
7. Take time to be grateful.
"I write my five-item
gratitude list in my journal, which helps to set me up with a positive, healthy
mindset for the day. I find it's an opportunity to check in with my
thoughts and bring focus to the things that are most important in my life at
that time." -- Becky Wright, personal trainer and nutritional therapist
8. Be habitual and
consistent.
"Workout, green juice,
meditate. That's the first hour of my day no matter what. It helps me realign
my body and mind and get the nutrients I need to perform at my highest
capacity." -- Dan Martell, entrepreneur
9. Visualize future
achievements.
"I close my eyes and
spend 10 minutes visualizing myself achieving my goals, in vivid detail. I
picture that feeling of success to a level where my mind fully experiences it
as real. In this state, there is no sense of worry, need, or lack. I am
limitless." -- AJ Kumar, founder at Limitless Publishing
10. Eat a healthy
breakfast.
"For the longest time, my
first instinct every morning was to roll over, reach for my iPhone, and
check to see what may have made it's way into my inbox or social streams
overnight. I realized that that practice immediately propelled me into work
mode, and it wasn't conducive to starting the day off right. Today, I take the
time to make a healthy breakfast each morning -- usually consisting of
vegetables and protein (eggs, salmon, or chicken) along with a green juice and
coffee. That killer combo sets my mindset of healthy eating throughout the day
-- and if lunch can't happen until later in the afternoon, I can count on the
vegetables to keep me fuller, longer." -- Heather Anne Carson,
president and co-founder at Onboardly
11. Avoid checking email
right away.
"I try to avoid reading
email until I've been awake for at least one hour. I do this because it
helps me prioritize my thoughts for the day based on what's actually important,
not what my inbox makes me think is important." -- Chad Halvorson, founder
and CEO at When I Work
12. Clear your mind
and prepare for the day.
"Mornings, for me, are
all about clearing my head so that I can crush my day's challenges. I start
with some exercise, a light healthy breakfast and some coffee to kick things
into gear. I find that the combo has me energized and ready to face the
day." -- Brad Crisp, CEO at Maptive
These entrepreneurs have
carefully constructed their mornings around the healthy habits they know make
them the most successful. But if your mornings still feel out of control, how
can you transition to this optimized state?
The easiest way to get
started is to try.
Pick the one morning
routine from the list above that resonates best with you and give it a try for
a week.
Take notes as you notice
whether your new habits are working or not.
If they are, try to make
even further improvements the next week.
And if they aren't, simply
pick a new habit next week and start again.
There's no magical formula
that'll tell you how you should build your morning routine or what specific
habits you should adopt.
Through the process of
trial and error, though, you'll hit on a winning combination that gives you the
same sturdy foundation these successful entrepreneurs enjoy.
What's your morning routine like?
I love hearing about the different habits people have cultivated,
so do me a favor and leave me a comment below with your experiences.
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