A morning routine might not earn you a million dollars, but it’s sure to give you that million-dollar feeling all day long.
The idea of a morning routine is not revolutionary. For some, it’s simply getting out of bed, making a pot of coffee, and scrolling through the news. But for me, it turned into a calculated process that I now call the Million Dollar Morning Routine (MDMR). I attach “million dollars” to my morning routine as it makes me feel like a million dollars for the rest of the day brimming with energy, focus, drive and productivity. If you’re thinking, “Gosh, I am not a morning person; this will never work for me,” think twice. I was never a morning person either, but by using some habit-forming techniques like anchor habits and habit stacking, I built my MDMR.
The Need for Change
The need for a morning routine hit me hard during the turmoil of 2020. The pandemic blurred the lines between personal life and work, disrupting my established routines. Amid the mounting stress, I realized that I needed some drastic changes — for both my mental and physical health.
I identified two primary challenges: Firstly, my lack of a consistent exercise routine was adding to my stress. Secondly, I yearned for some quiet “me” time before the household woke up.
The Solution
I was in the market for a new fitness routine, and I signed up for Orangetheory, a studio exercise that involves treadmill, rowing and floor exercise. When you start something new, your engagement is high. So, I chose to sign up for the 5am classes. Had anyone told me 3 years ago that I would become a morning person, I would have laughed out loud. But once I started going to the 5 am class, it solved the two problems that I was grappling with during pandemic 1) I accomplished the most important and sometimes the toughest task of the day even before fully waking up 2) It gave me an additional hour of “me time” before anyone else at home was awake.
The Process of Building the MDMR
Step 1: Find your Anchor Habit and reduce activation energy
Building this morning routine didn’t happen overnight. It took me over 3 months to make my morning workout a routine, which I call the anchor habit. To remove any activation energy required to get off the bed and head to the gym, I eliminated any decision process. I set out the clothes that I needed to wear, filled my water bottle, prepared my towel and pre-workout snack, and kept them all in my bathroom closet. I would simply roll out of bed, get into my clothes, and drive to the gym.
| Anchor Habit: Anchor Habit: This is the habit you need to master, and it will work as a trigger for you to stack other habits onto. This anchor habit would be something you’re passionate about. For me, it was exercising, for others, it could be meditation, writing, or any other passion.
Activation Energy: When your body is at rest, some energy is required to get you moving. The less activation energy is needed to kick-start a task, the more likely you will be to complete that task. In my case, the task to get me to the gym involved picking an outfit, shoes, prepping my gym bag with a towel, gloves, water bottle, etc.
Step 2: Use your anchor habit as your trigger for habit stacking
Now that you have established and mastered your anchor habit, you can leverage it as a trigger to stack other smaller healthier habits! In my case, as soon as I came back from the gym, I had 1 hour of “me time” ahead. Initially, I spent it watching TV and scrolling through my phone. Then I saw a potential to stack on other healthy habits like, cognitive games, reading curated articles (Medium is a great source), and meditation.
Habit Stacking — This is when you use an existing habit as a trigger to stack another habit.
Caution: This is a slow process. If you try to stack too many at the same time, you might feel overwhelmed and give up. You need to stack a habit and then give it time to become part of your routine before you add another one to the stack.
Step 3: Use micro-habits and location triggers for more stacking
You can stack habits with or after your anchor habits. In my case, when I set my gym bag out, I set out a large glass of water and my daily vitamin supplements. This fostered a healthy micro habit of drinking 8oz of water first thing in the morning and taking my daily supplements without fail.
Micro habit — These are tiny habits that require very little effort but may still require some energy to remember to do it. Examples include drinking a glass of water in the morning or stepping on the scale. These are ideal candidates to stack onto an existing habit.
When I got back from the gym, I had to drop my gym clothes into the laundry basket in the guest bedroom. I used this as a location trigger for my mediation habit. By removing activation energy to look for a mat, headphones etc., for meditation, I was able to integrate it into my routine. Soon, after changing my workout clothes, I used the location as a trigger to meditate. Now, I meditate for 10–12 minutes every day. I have wanted to meditate for as long as I have known about it, but it never materialized until I stacked it onto my anchor habit.
Location Trigger: This is when your habit is triggered by where you conduct the tasks. In my case, the action of dropping the dirty laundry and seeing the mat and headphones in the guest bedroom is the location trigger to meditate.
The Outcome
Gradually, my morning routine started taking shape, and before anyone at home was awake, I’d have already finished a workout, taken my supplements, meditated, enjoyed breakfast, and completed my cognitive exercises. Now, three years later, I start my day with a sense of accomplishment and feel like a million dollars for the rest of the day.
As you see, the process of creating my morning routine wasn’t immediate. It involved strategies such as identifying my anchor habit, removing activation energy, habit stacking, and using location as a trigger. The goal wasn’t to make my morning routine complex or packed; instead, it’s about making it practical and beneficial for my lifestyle. You can do the same!
Moving Forward
Having established a stable morning routine, I’m now working on an evening routine. The process of structuring my morning taught me that beneficial habits can indeed be formed with patience and consistency. And if a once non-morning person like me can do it, anyone can.
I encourage you to look at your morning routine, identify what you’d like to improve, and start making those changes. Remember, it’s not about perfection, it’s about progression. With time, you might just find your own version of a Million Dollar Morning Routine.
Good Luck!