Recently, a few Define My Day users started a book club in the user group. After some discussion, they ended up choosing The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. So far, they are about 6 chapters in and, after watching their discussion, I decided to go back and listen to the book again.
I always say that I wish I had read this book earlier. I fiddled with my mornings for years before coming up with the best routine for me. Then, I read The Miracle Morning. I had a “doh” moment. I spent years of unproductive mornings before I came to my ultimate schedule and this book was already there waiting to show me the way.
The plan was already done. I only had to find it and follow it. Oh well.
In listening to it now, I’m reminded that there’s one key ingredient that many people leave out of their morning routines… intention. We have to start our days with intention or we find ourselves lost to the intentions of other forces.
Many people don’t have the desire to wake up early because there is no reason for it. Whether they work for someone else or not at all, their day is laid out for them. They wake up and do what is necessary to make it through the day. Nothing more.
The problem with that routine is that it doesn’t lead to a good place. If we are not pointing ourselves in the direction of our most fulfilled selves each day, we will not like what we find at the end of our life’s journey. In fact, we won’t enjoy many of the steps along that journey.
We have to take the time to set our intention for every day.
It starts just before going to bed. This is a great time to review your day with a critical eye. You can assess your successes and failures while setting your mindset for the next morning.
Then, pre-plan the next day’s priorities. By doing this, you are subconsciously giving yourself a mission, a reason, to wake up in the morning. We are less likely to hit snooze when we have a reason to get out of bed.
We are less likely to hit snooze when we have a reason to get out of bed.
Finally, I recommend time-blocking the next day. Take your day’s priorities and schedule them. This practice helps grow our time awareness. We can see how much, or how little, time we really have. When we do this, we realize we don’t have time to lay in bed for 8 more minutes… or 32.
By taking a little time each evening to set your intention for the next day, you can create a sense of purpose for the day and a reason to get out of bed. Start your day with intention and you’ll love where it takes you.
