I thoroughly enjoy performing my morning routine, but it isn’t without failure.
On those stressful, jam-packed days, my routine is often preempted by something I deem higher priority.
I want to ensure, even on those days, that I complete my routine and so the idea of this post was born.
I want to explore what makes a morning routine, and particularly the set of activities that form the routine, necessary to start the day ahead.
It’d be important to first list out what my routine consists of:
+ the rest of a traditional routine (brushing, changing / showering etc.)
On review of these activities, I’d argue the commonalties amongst them is that they require full focus to be performed well.
That sounds contrary to popular belief, because what about drinking water requires full focus?
Well that’s where the quantifier of being performed well come in.
To allocate complete attention to a mundane, easily performed task is difficult – that’s precisely why it is important to do it, especially at the start of the day.
I think of it as analogous to harnessing focus. Focus that I can use in the hours to follow.
To take a sip of water, and devote full focus to visualizing the water leave the bottle, enter my mouth into my body, and listen as the different systems of my body signal interaction with the water I just drank, is not the way we normally drink water.
We just drink it.
Drinking it, in this fully intentional way, demands of your mind to clear itself and pay full attention to the visualization described above. It’s training yourself to harness this focus.
My goal in the morning is to clear my mind of stresses, worries, and really everything – to acquire focus.
Conditioning my mind to expend all of its energy on a single task, the task at hand.
This is all motivated by my belief that the best work comes with single focus. It could be eating, studying, exercising, reading, talking, but whatever it is, it can be performed at it’s best level when placed on center stage.
I believe this focus-harnessing quality is embodied by each activity listed above, as they all, when performed correctly, help clear my mind and mandate action through intention. It’s difficult to meditate, write, or do yoga without intention, which is why they are perfect activities.
To enter your day, along side a clear mind and the ability to focus on any given task is an incredibly powerful feeling.
I’d claim that you’re far more likely to pick a healthier first meal and eat it more mindfully. Your interactions with others will be far more pleasant. You’ll have a clearer understanding of what you want to do, and in what order. All because you’ve established mental clarity, and generated this focus that you can take with you throughout the day.
These are all second order effects I have felt since incorporating meditation, and the auxiliary activities into my routine.
The effects are supported by anecdotal evidence, though it’s sufficient for me, as I’ve felt it myself.
I hope the analysis in this post provides me with sufficient reason to ensure my routine actually becomes a routine.