What morning routine actually works?

So first let's talk about setting the tone for the day. Research from the Journal of Positive Psychology shows that a positive morning routine significantly impacts your mood and productivity for the rest of the day. It's just quite incredible. Actually, these simple practices can make such a big difference. Starting the day with a few minutes of meditation has been a game changer for me as well. I don't do it all the time, but when I do it always makes me feel just clearer of mind, but it also sets a peaceful tone for the day ahead. So if I know I'm going to have a lot of maybe stressful conversations or maybe some commitments that are going to require quite a bit of energy out, I find that starting with that, a simple meditation and maybe a little bit of breath, work first thing in the morning. It really sets up my day and I manage those calls much more effectively. What about you?

Your positive energy can create a wave of positivity in your life, but also in the lives that you're touching throughout the day. That's all for today's episode. My fellow wellness warriors, starting your day with positivity is a powerful way to impact yourself and others. Whether through mindfulness exercise or simply enjoying a quiet moment, these small acts of self-care can transform your day and the days of others around you. Before we go, I'd love to hear your feedback, stories, suggestions, what morning routines have worked for you. Follow us on Instagram, facebook, tiktok and all the usual places to stay updated and join in the conversation. If you enjoy the podcast, a review and subscription would mean the world to me. Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey. Keep pushing your limits, stay positive and always aim to improve by just 2% every day.

So forcing yourself to tackle a daunting task first can actually lead to stress and maybe even burnout, as highlighted in research from the Journal of Occupational Health and Psychology. So why don't we talk about some alternative morning strategies? What can you do instead? Here's a few ideas. Number one start with the small wins. Research from Harvard Business Review shows that beginning your day with small, manageable tasks helps you build natural momentum and set a positive tone for the rest of the day. Number two mindfulness and morning routines. We talk about that a lot here in our collective community, don't we? Incorporating mindfulness practice, such as meditation or deep breathing, can help you start your day with clarity and calm. The American Mindfulness Research Association has found that mindfulness can significantly reduce stress and improve overall well-being.

Start with a solid morning routine. Harvard Business Review highlights that effective morning habits can set a positive tone for the day. Wake up a little earlier to give yourself some breathing room, practice gratitude, do some exercise, eat a healthy breakfast. It's not hard, but it's not necessarily easy either. But the process is simple. We got to commit to it and we got to keep committing to it and we got to keep doing it. And trust me, the more you do it, the easier it comes. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance throughout the week is also crucial. Research by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health shows that a balanced approach to work and life can reduce stress and improve overall well-being. And don't underestimate the power of social connections. Studies from the Mayo Clinic emphasize that social support is vital to mental health.

You're right, it helps us with that cortisol regulation as well. It's like there's so many boxes that get ticked and yet you would think that more people would just be into this, but it's not the case. Why do you think that is? What do you think the reason is for that, Mark? I used to think it was laziness, but now I think it's a lack of priorities. So I'm in bed by 8.30 every night and I'm up between 4.30 and 5. So I get up, I run the Tim Ferriss 30-30-30 protocol, which is 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes and then 30 minutes of moderate exercise every day. And when people tell me, oh, I can't do this, I can't do that because of that, all right, can we stop with the excuse making and excuse making? Now I'm an empty nester. I have my wife and my our two dogs, but if you have six kids, you can create a morning routine that's going to start your day off right and healthy.

But you know you got all these different sounds and it's crazy If you hear any sound on its own, it really doesn't make a lot of sense, but you put them all together in this sort of tempo and rhythm, right. All of a sudden you've got this masterpiece and the thing is it's balanced. Everything works together to create this amazing uniformity. And I really look at how we plan our days to days and our weeks to weeks, months to months, years to years, and I think we can find similar harmony between the things that pull us and the things that push us, more importantly, the things that we're going after. All right, getting really clear on whether or not there are those goals. So that idea of balance is pretty key. Or, like I said, harmony. Now let's chat about the morning routine, because, again, I hinted at that a second ago.

Our downtime, like I still like to netflix and chill, don't get me wrong like I got my favorite series. I binge, like we all do that, and but it's learning how to offset that with some healthier habits as well. But for you, I know, it's really important to bookend the day. You start the day a certain way, but you also end the day, and I find that we don't talk about the ending of a day, correct, like we just often say, yeah, just go, just go to bed, go to sleep, like we'll hear sometimes, sleep hygiene or sleep rituals, blah, blah, blah. But it doesn't get the same amount of play that morning rituals get, and so could you briefly just talk a little bit about morning ritual. But, more importantly, I'd love for you to talk about the ending of the day, because I know if you don't end up, it doesn't set you up for starting the next day.

You know, a full day of productivity, or at least I felt very productive, but also with lots of little breaks throughout. Listeners have also shared their experiences with me. One listener found that starting your day with a gratitude journal made her more productive and happier. So there's another option maybe starting the day with some gratitude journaling. You know, these personal stories highlight the importance of finding what works best for you. So if you have a story right, you who's listening to this right now? Go to the show notes, click link that says text me. You know you can literally shoot me a message through your SMS app on your phone because you're listening to this while you're doing something else I listen to podcasts too and just click open the notes, click on that little link. It'll open up your SMS app Shoot.

The 2% Solution. Play it here, with the full transcript on the page. Thirty minutes a day. Fifteen of movement, five of stillness, ten of reading. The framework everything here runs on. A conditioned belief about one day sets the tone for the whole week. The earliest written record of the two percent framework.

Thirty minutes a day. That is two percent of it. Fifteen minutes of movement, five of stillness, ten of reading something that makes you better. I wrote this down in February 2016, turned it into a book, and have not changed the shape of it since, because the size is what makes it work. FIG. 01 Two percent of the day, every day. Most fitness plans fail at the negotiation stage. An hour a day is a real argument against a career, a marriage, and kids, and it is an argument you will lose the first week everything goes wrong. So the plan has to be small enough that a man cannot argue with it. Thirty minutes is that size. It survives the worst week of your year. It survives travel, sick kids, and a quarter you are behind on. And because it survives, it compounds. The men I coach do not get fit in thirty-minute sessions.

You are freaking awesome and Mondays are just another day for you to share that awesomeness with the world. One removal. The original quoted Tom Waits at this point and the quotation itself did not survive the export from LinkedIn, leaving an attribution with nothing attached to it. Rather than invent a quote, the line is gone. Everything else is as it ran. The 2% Solution. Play it here, with the full transcript on the page. You have done it five times. It is not discipline, and the fix is unglamorous. The least exercise that actually does something, and the part everyone leaves out. Losing basic functional movement means losing the ability to care for yourself.