Heard a guy talking about his 4 hour morning routine that started at 2.15am and I immediately called bullshit.
Even if this was true and not farming attention nobody should live like this. Total waste of time.
Your morning routine doesn’t need to be 4 hours and you don’t need to wake up at 2.15am, my word.
So I’m giving you a 4 MINUTE morning routine that will set you up for success every single day with minimal effort.
We want to start our day with the right intentions with the right energy and it does not take 4 hours to get there.
So here we go, follow along and in 4 minutes you’re going to have an extra 3 hours 56 minutes in the bank.
Minute 1: Move your muscles about a bit
Stretch your legs. Touch your toes (I haven’t been able to do this since I was about 11 but that’s beside the point). Swing your arms around in circles. Wobble your neck from side to side. Roll your ankles. I don’t know jump up and down or something.
Get some blood pumping and get some mobility in those muscles and joints.
If you’re mega lazy then you don’t even need to get out of bed to stretch.
Side note, if you’re in your 20s reading this my god man stretch more. I’m in my thirties now and neglected any stretching in my 20s, even before and after working out, and my muscles and joints are not as young as they should be.
Minute 2: Get the fluids on board
After your very intense 1 minute stretching routine, grab a bottle of water and chug that baby down.
The human race is chronically dehydrated 98% of the time (don’t fact check me).
Search for Dr. Batmanghelidj on Youtube and you’ll know everything you need to know about the body and water. Listen to Huberman and his take too.
Finish and start your day chugging down some H2O. It improves sleep, brain function, inflammation, you name it, it solves it.
I’m guilty of not drinking enough water throughout the day so I get this in first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
It’s always the simple changes that can impact our physical and mental health the most.
Minute 3: Zen huuuuuuummmm
You don’t need to become a born again monk to become more zen. I wrote an article a year ago called The 1 Minute Meditation - here it is making an appearance again.
Sit yourself down, set a timer for 60 seconds, close your eyes, take some deep breaths. That’s it.
Congratulations you can now tell your buddies you meditate and you’re off to India to go and find yourself.
If you want, don’t set a timer and just sit still in a quiet room and open your eyes when you’ve had enough or become restless. Your 4 minute morning routine might become a 12 minute morning routine but that’s your prerogative.
Don’t want to be more zen? Take the 1 minute and take some deep breaths. Go full Wim Hof style (you don’t need to get into a frozen lake to prove you’re a beast though).
Minute 4: The daily intention prompt
Congratulations, you woke up at 7am and now you’re 1 minute away from completing your morning routine and it’s 7.03am. Alright, it’s probably 7.05am by the time you get out of bed and get your water but you get the point.
Your final task is to write down your intention for the day.
Here is your prompt: Today, I will…
(I’m not reinventing the wheel here people.)
Just write down one thing you will achieve that day no matter how small.
Here was mine: Today, I will write my newsletter.
Mine yesterday? Today, I will not eat until 3pm.
Elon Musk would be proud of those goals, right?
The best thing about this seemingly simple exercise is that at the end of the day you mark it as done and your day was a success. You achieved what you set out to do that day.
We all know small habits compound over time into enormous wins.
My newsletter goal is part of a wider ambition I have about building my own media empire.
My intermittent fasting goal is part of a wider plan to get back down to 185lbs.
They all add up.
3 hours 56 minutes to spare
What are you going to do with your spare 3 hours 56 mins? Normal people stuff I guess. Sleep. Leave the 2.15am wake up time for the people that say they wake up at 2.15am…
Don’t like any minute of the morning routine, fix it up to your preferences! A gratitude list, burpees, positive affirmations, jump in a cold shower, whatever suits you.
Keep it short, simple and sweet. Start your day with the right intentions with the right energy.
Remember people, getting your shit together takes some work but not that much work.