Upgrading The Morning Hustle

So, like many of you I’ve been sitting back and watching the nonsense of “Shower-gate” play out, and I’ve been disgusted. If by some stroke of luck, you have no idea what I’m talking about here’s the gist. A couple of weeks ago Ashton Kutcher and his wife Mila Kunis spoke on their podcast and shared with the world that they don’t regularly bathe their children or themselves. 

I know! My initial thought was Ew, y’all nasty! But it gets worse, more celebrates decided they wanted to share their bathing habits and shocking many of them do not wash their ass regularly. There’s already so much going on in the world and here comes some attention seeking celebrities telling the world all their filthy habits. 

I digress. But it got me thinking about morning routines, what people do and do not do in the morning? Or what smart habits we should be including for a successful morning. Now, let me preface this by saying that I am a morning person, I feel most productive in the morning and have built a routine that works for me. So, before we get into this remember that I am basing this on what works for me and what I think will help you start your day off the right way.

Your Body is Your Temple

I usually wake up two hours before I need to leave for work. It sounds crazy I know, and no I’m not advising everybody reading this to do the same but again this works best for me. Consider taking 10 minutes to meditate and get your mind right for the day. For me this process centres me and puts me in a great space mentally for the day. With meditation done take a moment to make your bed. I’m slightly OCD and can’t my room in disarray. I wouldn’t be able to focus during the day knowing my room looks is a hot mess. It would drive me crazy, so I always make sure to leave my space in a clean and organized state.

After centering yourself and making you bed, TAKE A BATH!!! It’s second nature, my morning isn’t complete without a shower and my day will always be thrown into chaos. And considering what’s being defined as clean these days when I say I bathe, I mean a full shower, with soap, a loofa and plenty of scrubbing. Wash everything, not just the “pits and slits”, it’s a fundamental component to a strong morning routine and is non-negotiable in my book.

Now I have a question for you, do you brush your teeth before or after you eat your breakfast? If you’re brushing after you’ve eaten your breakfast, stop! The acids in certain fruits, juices, and coffee will weaken the enamel in your teeth. So, when you eat a meal full of acidic foods and then turn around and brush your teeth, you’re actively messing up your smile. The best thing you can do for yourself is brush before eating and once again after to maintain fresh breath or use a good mouth wash.

Get Your Life Together

With the basics out of the way let’s get you organized for the day. The number one thing I’d encourage more guys to do is journal in the morning. It’s important to set goals or tasks for the day, this is a great way to prioritize what you want or need to get done for the day in a realistic and pragmatic way. I usually take 10 minutes after getting dressed to draft up a list of what I need to get done for the day. It helps keep me focused and on what I got to do. 

Currently, I’m working on 2 other projects outside of my regular job and daily journals and list keep everything really organized. I’m also using this time to check and respond to emails from the night before, approving marketing, or reviewing notes from previous meetings. I think getting all of this done before your workday begins is the best way to stay up on your ‘ish.

Another tip is during this time make sure charge your devices. You’ll need your phone, tablet, air pods or anything else to take on the day, and it can totally screw with your day when you leave home and realise your things are out of power. Take a second to plug in and charge your stuff. 

Eat Smart at the Start

I’ve never really been a breakfast person, so this is something I’m trying to work on. But as they say Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I try to eat something light like yogurt, a fruit cup or on the rare occasion a croissant or bagel. Now, I don’t drink coffee but if you can’t start your day without it than do you. During the Spring and Summer I prefer fresh juice or a fruit smoothie and in the cooler months hot tea, I find that it helps get me ready for the day. 

Because my workday can go from laid back to intense very quickly, I try to pack several snacks in my bag in addition to my water bottle so I’m not missing any meals. It’s easy for the day to get away from us and that’s when you can develop bad eating habits, being selective about what you eat can do wonders on the outcome of your day.

Final Checks

At this point you should be ready for the day. You’re well rested, bathed, changed, organized, and feed so the last thing I would recommend is to do a final check. Give your work bag a second look, make sure you have everything you need. Is there anything you forgot or need to top off? Are your devices charged? Is there enough power on them to get you to the office? Once you’ve gone through all these steps you should be ready to head out and face the day. Again, I awake and start getting ready 2 hours before I need to leave for work, I also do this because I don’t like to feel rushed. My advice is if you’re looking to build a morning routine start slow. If 2 hours sounds like a lot than do an hour. Try it out for a month and reassess. 

As always, I like to keep the conversation going. Drop a comment below and let me know what you think. What do you do in the morning? What works for you? Please don’t leave me any comments or arguments for not bathing or any benefits you heard about it. We’re grown there’s no excuse for not washing yourself. Until next time…