You work full time.
It’s time for bed. You’re brushing your teeth and reviewing how your day went. You’re disappointed.
You had planned to workout, shop for groceries, clean your apartment and prepare for tomorrow evenings date.
But none of those things happened.
You woke up late. You missed your morning gym session. As soon as you went to go shopping in the afternoon, you bumped into friends who invited you out for a bite to eat. And that night, you sat on the couch watching endless repeats on TV while your favourite shirt for tomorrows date lies crinkled on the bedroom floor.
You plan to be more organised tomorrow. But the next day brings more of the same.
Does this sound familiar?
There are several things you can do to become more organised and improve your lifestyle. Today we’re going to talk about the importance of morning and evening routines.
Why You Need a Morning and Evening Routine
Every man should have personal goals and priorities in his life. Morning and evening routines help you keep your priorities from falling apart and help you progress and become a better man.
Having a morning and evening routine:
Ensures that you complete really important tasks
Whilst at work, we can’t really control what happens during the middle of the day. However, we can control how we begin and end our day. Take advantage of this by integrating your most important tasks into your morning and evening routines.
For example, if I don’t workout in the morning, then I won’t workout that day. I just don’t have the time. So working out is part of my morning routine. Writing for my blog is another important thing for me. If I don’t set aside some time for writing then it doesn’t get done. Therefore, writing for my blog is part of my evening routine. This ensures that my important tasks are done before the interruptions of the work day get in the way.
Gives you a sense of control
Morning and evening routines keep me grounded. It doesn’t matter how mad things get during the day, it’s comforting to know what I will be doing during the morning and at the end of the day. My routines give me a sense of control over my life and help me re-generate my mind so I can be more efficient.
Gives you time to moonlight
I don’t particularly like my current career and I don’t plan to do it for the rest of my life. Instead I moonlight. Blogging full time would be my dream career, however I won’t quit my current job until it becomes a truly viable option. If you’re unhappy in your current career and dream of doing something else, don’t quit yet. Moonlight and hustle until you’re in the position to make your dream job become a reality. The best time to do this is in the morning and evenings before and after your current job.
Gives you time to be your best
If I’m unprepared in the evening, and wake up late in the morning, I’m always in a rush. The result – no shower, crinkled shirt, bad hair and a break out of sweat when I run to catch the train. If you organize your work things in the evening, and wake up early enough to make yourself look dapper in the morning, you can take on the day’s challenges whilst looking your best.
How to Create your Morning and Evening Routines
Define your goals
Look at your most important goals. Are there any behaviours or habits that you need to introduce to achieve your goals? Make sure you introduce these behaviours into your morning and evening routines.
Maybe your goal is to start a blog this year. Make setting up and writing for your blog the first thing you do for 30 minutes every morning. If your goal is to learn how to play the guitar, make taking lessons as part of your evening routine. If losing body fat and building lean muscle is your goal, make working out the first thing you do in the morning.
While the tasks you undertake in your morning and evening routines will vary depending on your goals, you still need to review your days work and plan your day for tomorrow every evening. In the morning, recap and review your day’s goals. If you do these two things, you will be more focused and accomplish more during the day.
Stick to your routine
There is no point having a morning and evening routine if you don’t stick to it. You must set your routine firmly in place. Wake up the same time everyday. If you’re rushing in the morning to get ready, wake up earlier. Set a fixed time for your evening task to begin and go to bed the same time every night during the week. Know what activities you’re going to do during your routines, how much time you’re going to spend on each task, and what order you will do them.
Adapt your routine
Although it’s easy to say, ‘stick to your routine,’ from time to time your routine will change. For example, my morning and evening routines today are different from my routines when I was a student. And they are different when you have a baby. I haven’t got a kid, but if you do I hear your morning and evening routines are even more important.
Be flexible and adapt when it comes to your morning and evening routines, but keep an even balance as morning and evening routines will determine your success in life.
My Morning and Evening Routine
Here’s my morning and evening routine that I commit to at the moment.
Morning Routine
5:45 AM: Wake up
Put on gym clothes
Drink a protein shake
5:55 AM: Go to gym (Monday / Wednesday / Friday: Weight training; Tuesday / Thursday; High intensity interval training; Saturday / Sunday: Rest)
6:55 AM: Return home, make and eat porridge, shower, brush teeth, get dressed etc
7:20 AM: Review my tasks and days schedule
7:40 AM: Leave for work
Evening Routine
My aim is to be in bed by 10:30pm. This is what I plan to do before then.
6:30 PM: Return from work, get ready for work tomorrow (lunch / iron shirt etc)
6:45 PM: Cook dinner using Dave Ruel’s Anabolic Cookbook (prepare a week’s worth of food on Sundays – 2 hours)
7:00 PM: Eat dinner
7:30 PM: Write articles for my blog
10:00 PM: Review days work, review goals and tasks, plan tomorrows schedule.
10:15 PM: Get ready for bed, drink protein shake
10:30 PM: Lights out
