The power of a morning ritual
Design a morning ritual and set your day up for success.
If you can“win the morning, you win the day” - says Tim Ferris, a well-known productivity guru. Tim’s right, our morning lays the groundwork for a productive, focused day.
An intentional, designed morning sets you up to succeed. We know this to be true, but implementing it is another story.
How many times has this happened to you:
You go to bed with dreams of a productive day ahead, where you achieve all your most important goals with zen-like energy and clarity of mind.
Then you wake up, and the opposite happens… a mountain of new information, decisions and distractions begin to seize your energy and focus. All of a sudden, it’s now 10am and you feel stretched, tired and behind schedule.
Mornings don’t have to be this way.
By leveraging the power of rituals, you can design a morning routine that sets you up for a predictive, positive result, while ensuring you don’t neglect self-care, even when you’re busy.
What is a ritual?
A ritual (or routine) is a predetermined set of actions that arise from convention or habit. Rituals set you up to get a predictable, positive result.
Rituals are often thought of as negative or religious behaviours, but however you see them, they’re inescapable. We all have rituals, even if we don’t call them that.
From the time we wake up, to the outfits we wear, the food we eat, the news we read and exercise we commit to… We all create and somewhat live by rituals, whether we realise it or not.
The benefits:
Rituals conserve mental energy by eliminating routine decisions.
Because we’re creatures of habit, decisions become automated, so you can save mental power more important decisions.
Rituals reduce the friction of decision making.
If you sequence your rituals, your brain can quickly move through them without working overtime.
Rituals boost energy by ensuring you don’t neglect self-care.
By giving yourself the first moments of the day, you’re creating confidence to succeed.
New evidence* is backing rituals as a powerful tool to boost performance, by improving focus, concentration and attention. Professional athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo, Tiger Woods, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams treat their daily rituals as something sacred and a powerful element of consistent success.
Beyond sports, rituals can be used to prevent distractions in our everyday lives and work— like email or Facebook — from devouring your day.
Morning rituals automate a pre-thought process that position you in the best mental and physical shape to succeed, without requiring excess thought.
Create your own morning ritual
Download this FREE powerful template to design a morning ritual and set your day up for success. Print out or fill digitally.
*Psychology Today - How Rituals Help Us Perform Better
Further reading: The power of rituals by Michael Hyatt
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