The Ideal Way To Start Every Day

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May 16, 2008

Alarm clock Have you ever gotten off to a bad start in the morning and then everything else afterward in the day just kindof fell apart?

I’ve done a lot of thinking about how to best begin the day, so this sort of thing never happens again. Or, at least, to minimize the problem as much as possible.

And combining several sources together and throwing in some of my own observations about myself, I’ve put together a sort of “ideal template” with which to start every day.

12 Daily Steps That Can Vastly Improve Your Life and Extend It For As Long As Possible

1. Set your alarm to go off 10 minutes earlier than usual. By getting at least a 10-minute earlier start, you tend to remove the “urgency” many of us experience as soon as we wake up. You’ll feel less harried, less hurried and a bit more peaceful.

2. The first thing, after you get up, is to immediately remake your bed. If you don’t do this, you will be starting your day… instantly… creating an “undone chore” which will nag at the back of your mind for the rest of the day. If you do do this, you will start the day without having added a single, niggling little thing to your “to do” list.

3. Take out your “Success Reminder Book” and take a couple minutes to look through it. A “success book” is a compilation of words, sentences, and pictures that motivate and inspire you. They are the things that are most important to you and the things that you want in life. They also represent the kind of person you want to be and remind you of key ideas you want to burn into your being.

4. Go to the kitchen, pour yourself a glass of water and drink it all. You do NOT drink enough water. Nobody in America does. Water is the elixir of elixirs. It flushes toxins out of your body, provides an environment which lets your electrolytes and all other aspects of your biochemistry function at maximum efficiency.

5. Go to the bathroom, take care of “business,” brush your teeth, wash the sleep out of your face and eyes, fix your hair, and weigh yourself. You’re getting ready for battle: The battle to have a good day. Doing all the above will wake you up a little, freshen you up a bit and “set-you-up” to get going. Weighing yourself will give you a mental reminder of where you are on a daily basis so that extra poundage never “sneaks up” on you. Also, if you’re wanting to lose weight, you’ll make more progress in shorter time if you make a mental note of your weight every day. Successes will be easier to keep going and gains will be easier to fix.

6. Next, put on some exercise clothes like sweatpants, a sweatshirt and sneakers. Make this a ritual. You are dressing for battle: An assault on the forces of negativism.

7. Leave the house immediately and take a 20-minute walk. You’re outside, you’re breathing fresh air, you’re getting your circulation going, you’re becoming more mentally alert. Some of the fog begins to lift from your mind. You begin to notice your environment, see the colors of the fall foliage, the bloom of a spring flower, the dew on the grass on a summer morning, the untrodden snow in mid-winter. Think about yourself. Think about your life and what you want out of it. Think about the kind of person you want to be. NOTE: This is NOT exercise. This is a loosening up; a “defogging” of your mind and allowing your body to gently warm up for its daily tasks.

8. As soon as you get back, woof down a nutritionally-dense protein drink with eight ounces of fat-free milk and a banana. This will infuse your body with nearly all the vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, and other good stuff to help your body and mind function at peak throughout the day.

9. Scarf down a packet of vitamins and minerals. More insurance you’re getting the minimum (at least) ingredients your body needs to run efficiently.

10. If you are the kind who works at home, wakes up early enough, or otherwise has enough time to do so, go work out. Work on whatever it is you need to work on. That may be cardio, strength training, or a little of both. This will improve your overall health over time and also give you a feel-good “rush” for some time afterward. If you’d like an excellent guide to follow, go get a book called “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Also, in contrast of the “self time” your 20 minute walk provided, it is a good idea to listen to music or something motivational or educational while working out. Listen to something that is perfectly in line with your goals or something that opens you up to a new experience.

11. Take a shower. Clean yourself up after all the stuff you just did. It’s part of the ritual of getting ready to battle the day.

12. Dress in fresh, crisp clothes and go about your day. Ritual completed. You’re loosened up, oxygenated, clean, crisp, nourished, starting your day with no added baggage.

Make a list like this and post it where you will see it every day, at least until you memorize it all and get into a solid routine. It usually takes 21 days of something before it becomes habbit. So force yourself to make this a GOOD HABBIT.

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