Morning Routine - Why, how and what ?

We’ve all been there - rushing to work without breakfast, shower or even brushing our teeth! Guess what, your day is ruined right before it even starts! How your morning start affects the rest of your day and ultimately your happiness and success.

I’m an IT guy. I’ve been living far from home ever since I got accepted to my dream university. At that time my day was a mess — 60% of the time I was late for classes, both my academic and my relationships were plummeted — I broke up with my girlfriend, my score was all time low. I was so anxious and embarrassed to phone my parents once. It took me a year to realize my horrible morning routine was the culprit all along.

“This ain’t gonna happen again !”

I have to do something about it !

Now I always leave the house at 7:30 and arrive to work at 8:15 feeling excited and refresh. How I do it ? Let me share with you my secret morning recipe !

My morning routine doesn’t start when I wake up. It starts the night before. The night before I always prepare my outfit so I won’t have to waste 15 minutes just to get dressed the next morning. Before bed I try to do some stretching just to relax my stiff body, help me fall asleep much easier. Then I go to bed at 10:00pm and wake up at 5:30am.

When I wake up the first thing I do is go jogging for 15–20 minutes. It kicks start your body ready for the day. Fasting cardio is the best way to lose body fat (it directly uses stored fat as energy). So if you’re looking to shred some fat, jogging or other types of physical activities first thing in the morning always works. Also it’s much easier to maintain a strong, healthy body.

Then I take a shower, an awfully cold shower ! It sucks ! But it just works ! There are many benefit of taking a cold shower such as improve immune system, fight cold, lose weight, etc… A cold shower wakes you up better than caffein !

Making bed might not be much but your brain loves to archive goals so by doing it I set myself to archives bigger goals in the day.

What a better way to start your day with a steaming hot delicious breakfast. I usually have some ramen noodles with some pickled vegetables and eggs. When I’m running late i just mix some oats with protein powder and drink it on the go. Protein and complex carbs are essentials to start your day strong. Make sure you don’t eat anything loads with sugar or hot spices for breakfast !

It’s 6:30am and I still have a lot of time before going to work. Usually I read the news — being up to date is important ! Maybe listening to audio books would be nice. At this time I always try to relax, think about how my day will unfold and how I feel at the end of the day. But most importantly, calling or texting the one you love — your parents, brother or sister, your partner, … I always try my best to keep in touch with them even when I am cramped with work and stuff.

That is how I start my day, have been doing so for years now. I am now in the best shape of my life and I hope you can too ! Good luck to you all !