avatarRichard Appiah

Summary

The author humorously presents an exaggerated morning routine before revealing a more realistic and beneficial approach to starting the day while running an online business.

Abstract

The article titled "My Morning Routine: How I Stay Zen and Sane While Running My Online Business" begins with a satirical take on the morning routines often glorified on social media, particularly those of CEOs and influencers. The author initially describes an implausibly rigorous and boastful routine, filled with early wake-up times, long runs, ice baths, and grandiose manifestations. This is followed by a confession that the initial routine was a parody, designed to highlight the impracticality of many routines shared online. The author then shares their actual morning routine, which is grounded and achievable, including mindfulness meditation, journaling, and intermittent fasting. The author emphasizes the importance of a simple, consistent routine for a calm and focused start to the day and mentions the positive impact of not immediately engaging with work-related communications. The article concludes with an invitation for readers to share their own morning routines and a mention of an audiobook the author has started listening to, which may offer further insights into maintaining a happy work life.

Opinions

  • The author uses satire to criticize the unrealistic morning routines often portrayed on social media by CEOs and influencers.
  • They believe that a regular morning routine, though simpler than those often idealized, is crucial for maintaining balance and productivity.
  • The author values mindfulness and self-reflection, as evidenced by their use of meditation and journaling.
  • Intermittent fasting is presented as a part of the author's routine, suggesting a personal commitment to health and discipline.
  • The author expresses that personal time in the morning, free from work distractions like emails and messages, is beneficial for overall well-being.
  • There is an acknowledgment that travel can disrupt the morning routine, indicating the author's firsthand experience with the challenges of maintaining consistency while on the move.
  • The author shows interest in further learning about workplace happiness and engagement, as indicated by their recent listening of Robyn L. Garrett’s audiobook.

My Morning Routine: How I Stay Zen and Sane While Running My Online Business

How a Simple, Realistic Approach Can Transform Your Day and Boost Success

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Get up and shine, like a true achiever! Ever wondered what happens when you take a CEO’s morning routine, throw in a sprinkle of satire, and then peel back the layers to reveal the real, actionable secrets behind the scenes?

Today, I will share my morning routine with you.

Why?

Having a regular morning routine is something that I started this year, and I have really felt its positive impact. In all honesty, it was more than I had expected.

So, I want to share mine with you.

My Morning Routine: 7 Morning Victories

4:00 am: I wake up an hour before all the losers who read the ‘The 5 AM Club’ to get a head start on them.

My first win of the day.

4:05 am: I go on my first run of the day. 10 miles.

The average runner takes 1hr 22 minutes to complete a 10-mile run. It takes me 55 minutes.

Second win of the day.

5:00 am: I take an ice bath while listening to binaural beats to enter a peak meditative state.

The recommended time to take ice baths is 15 minutes. I do 30 just to prove them wrong.

Third win of the day.

5:30 am: I sit on the sundeck and start my daily manifestation practice. I visualize and write down everything I want.

Within minutes, a brand new Telsa, a PS5, and a Brazilian supermodel appear at my doorstep.

…because manifestation REALLY works.

Fourth win of the day.

5:45 am: I drink my first cup of artisanal coffee, which I paid double the price for because it comes in fancy packaging.

Black. No sugar.

I am obviously intermittently fasting. That's what Joe Rogan does.

Fifth win of the day.

6:00 am: I go on my second run of the morning. A breezy 5 miles just to unwind and warm down from my first run.

I run through a nearby forest.

If I get lucky, I have to fight off a bear. The bear stands no chance.

The sixth win of the day.

6:30 am: I take a cold shower. Get dressed. And get ready for my commute.

Just kidding. Commuting is for suits. I work from home.

Seventh win of the day.

7:00 am: I sit down at my desk, knowing I am better than everyone else because I have already been up for 3 hours.

I am sure you realized very quickly that this is satire.

I started today’s article like this because I see so many unrealistic morning routines on social media that the people posting them can clearly not keep up with.

Don’t get me wrong, reading about how CEOs of large companies start their mornings or go about their days is interesting, but when social media influencers post 2-hour morning routines that they very obviously cannot do on a regular basis (especially when traveling or running a successful business), it just gets a bit ridiculous.

So, I wanted to poke fun at that.

Now, here’s what my actual morning routine looks like.

My Actual Morning Routine​​

Photo by Ekaterina Kasimova on Unsplash

Sometime between 6:30 am and 7:30 am, I wake up and crawl out of bed.

7:30 am to 8:00 am: I sit down on my porch with the Headspace meditation app and Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic Journal.

I do 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation (with varying success).

Then, I respond to the daily question (sometimes more) in the journal to help center myself and focus on what’s important in life in general and on that specific day.

8:00 am: I drink my first cup of coffee.

I drink my black tea without sugar because I try to do intermittent fasting on as many days of the week as possible. Usually, I manage to do it around four days a week.

While drinking my coffee, I will watch the daily Headspace video about mindfulness and then spend a little too much time laughing at funny Reels on Instagram.

8:15 am: I get ready and start working at around 8.30.

That’s it!

I meditate for 10 minutes.

Do some journaling with prompts to help me stay aligned with my goals.

I drink coffee.

Relax a bit.

And then I start my day.

In all honesty, having a simple but regular morning routine has been beneficial to me because it helps me to start my day in a calmer way than if I were to sleep a little longer and jump straight into work.

Also, things like not checking my emails or WhatsApp messages until I sit down at my desk have been great because I get some me time in the morning first.

Of course, the entire routine goes out of the window when I am traveling, which I do a lot. And then I do notice that I don’t feel as balanced as when I start my days like this.

I recently began listening to Robyn L. Garrett’s audiobook, “Happy at Work: How to Create a Happy, Engaging Workplace for Today’s (and Tomorrow’s) Workforce.” I bought the book since the author has a very entertaining Instagram account, but I’m just about fifteen minutes in, so it’s too early to pass judgment.

Get a Free Robyn L. Garrett’s audiobook by Clicking Here

I’d be curious to hear about your morning routine or what you do that you think I should add to mine.

Just hit reply in the comment section and let me know!

Business
Entrepreneurship
Morning Routines
Finance
Investing
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