Why I do these 6 things in the morning

1. I always wake up at the same time (6 am)

I’m up at 6 am every morning. Not 5:45, not 6:15, 6 am.  

Walking up at the same time helps with the psychological aspect of getting out of bed. It removes variability and increases confidence, thus reducing the chances of snoozing.  

2. Leave my phone (aka alarm clock) in the kitchen, next to the coffee machine. 

Another trick to avoid snoozing. Having my phone in another room forces me to stand up and walk to stop the noise. Which activates my nervous system and slowly wakes me up. I obviously need to set my ringtone loud enough to hear it and want to stop it.  

Step 2 of this trick is to leave your phone next to the coffee machine. It’s weird but super helpful. Since I’m already near the machine, I start my coffee. Since I've started my coffee, I don’t want to go to bed and waste a coffee. Tada, I’m up.  

On another note, leaving my phone in another room is also a great way to fall asleep faster at night because I don’t have a screen in front of my face triggering my nervous system before I go to sleep. 

3. Exercise (6:15 am)

After 15 minutes of reading the news with my coffee, I exercise for 30 to 45 minutes. It can be anything. So don’t give yourself the excuse of not having a gym nearby! I often do simple body-weight exercises with a yoga mat.  

Exercising will increase dopamine, serotonin and endorphins levels for the day, making me feel good and more energized at work.  

4. Walk Lola & think (7 am)

I walk my dog both because I must and because it has its benefits.  

The human brain is at its best in movement when it comes to reflecting on hard problems. Therefore, walking is a great way to reflect on decisions that I must take or problems that I need to solve.  

I also listen to business podcasts when I’m walking Lola or eating lunch. This way I mix a production-oriented workday with some learning.  

5. Start breakfast and shower at the same time (7:30 am)

After my walk with Lola, I take a shower. This next trick is inspired by Nathan Latka’s morning routine, and it’s great.  

What I do is start my breakfast right before going into the shower. It gives me a stimulus to force myself to not take too long. 

For example, I won’t take a 20 min shower if I’ve just put bread slices in the toaster. If I do, the bread will be dry and won’t be as good.  

Nathan Latka takes this trick to another extreme. He starts a pan with oil on it to take super short showers. If he’s not efficient, his house could burn down... 

6. End the shower with freezing water  

It’s the most annoying part of the routine but it activates the nervous system and increases mental confidence during the day!  

Start the workday (8 am)  

Finally, I start working at around 8 am. This doesn’t include commuting, since with Covid I currently walk 20 steps to get to work.  

If we’re ever back to working in an office, I would either wake up 30 min earlier or do a more intense workout in 15 minutes.

Hopefully, you've just found a bit of inspiration/ideas to better yourself. Go get it!