Most successful people have many similarities and many things in common. However, there’s usually 1 that stands out and that they do before they do anything else in their lives.  

That 1 thing… is their morning routine. They adopt a morning ritual to jump start their day. It might sound simple and ineffective but every successful person will tell you otherwise.  Time and time again experts have pointed out that having a morning ritual helps you to overcome procrastination, be more positive and set you up for a successful day.  

Your morning habit dictates the flow of your day. That’s why if you study successful people around the world, you will observe that strictly follow their morning ritual until it becomes embedded in their system.

Dave Panozzo, a former United States Army Member started his career in the real estate industry in 2016. He received citations for his accomplishments as a real estate agent, but in an interview, he told us how the road to success does not follow a straight line.  

While he is going after his goals he is often hit with detours that take him off his path to those goals. As a result of this experience it was important to Dave that he design a morning routine to keep him focused on what is important in reaching his goals. He stated “I started doing this about 5 years ago and it has completely changed my life!”  

In this article you will read the five morning habits that Dave created for himself to make sure that regardless of what is thrown his way he will have a productive day and stay focused on what he is set to accomplish. He suggested “ Try to follow these habits every morning for 21 days since experts said that it takes 21 days to develop a habit.”  

Get Up Early From Bed

Successful people start their day early. Those who rise early tend to procrastinate less as compared to others. Dave says “Every time I wake up early, I feel less stressed because I am not cramming to get out of the house. I have more time to prepare myself, ready to attack the day. And suddenly you will realize that you have more time, and you will be able to accomplish more”.

But you might say that you’re not a morning person. You can gradually work yourself to wake up early. For example, you can wake up 20 minutes earlier for a week then the following week you increase it to 25 minutes. You can keep doing this until you reach your ideal wake up time.

As the weeks go by, you gradually feel the result. You will reduce your stress level since you eliminate the need to rush in the morning. This gives way to a positive feeling that will trickle throughout the day. Research has shown that those who wake early can anticipate problems and minimize it more efficiently.

Dave shared with us his morning routine and what makes it so successful. It consists of making his bed first thing in the morning he stated “this is the first win of the day”, he follows up my reading his personalized affirmation. These are things that are he is reinforcing into his mind first thing in the morning. Next, he writes in his journal, making sure that he describes the way he feels while also focusing on a major win he has recently.  

Once you start doing this on a daily, weekly, or yearly basis, you now can reflect back on the situations you were in and reflect on how you conquered it.  

The last part of Dave’s pre-day routine consists of books. He enjoys reading a few pages at a time some mornings his mind is racing so fast that he can only get through a few pages while other mornings he can read a whole chapter. Some of the books that have changed his life are The 10X Rule, Relentless, Think and Grow Rich.     

Eat Breakfast

As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It serves as the fuel of your body so you could the tasks that lay ahead of you. It will help become more focused throughout the day.  

Nutritionists said that the basic formula for a healthy breakfast is to pair carbohydrates or carbs with proteins.  

Carbs will give your body the energy to get started and fuel for your brain. Protein, on the other hand, gives you more stamina and helps you feel full until your next meal.

Get Some Exercise

One part of Dave’s morning that helps fuel his energy is exercise. “Including exercise in your morning ritual will help boost your energy. It will also make you feel more alert and ready to take on the day” Dave stated.  

Morning exercise improves your stamina, boost your mental focus and improves your mood. Notice that you sweat out after a workout you feel good about yourself. You don’t have to do full workouts in the morning. You can just do a 15-minute workout, or you can have a quick jog. Put those rubber shoes on and make your body sweat.

Visualize

Another part of Dave’s morning that not only helps in keeping him motivated but also in staying on that straight line toward his goals is visualizing.  

Dave recommends “early in the morning, reflect on your goals and tasks to map out your day. Think about what you want to achieve and why do I want to achieve it. You need to reinforce your motivation in the morning, so you are ready to seize the day. You devote time to do meditation in the morning, you can read or listen to your favorite music. This will improve your mood and clarity to your mind.”

Prioritize

Prioritize your task. Do the toughest task in the morning when your mental focus and capacity are at the highest. Tackle your most important project in the morning so you feel fulfilled throughout the day. If you start prioritizing your tasks and start doing the most difficult task in the morning, you will become more productive. And you will feel good about yourself.

You can prepare a to-do list. Organizing your tasks will make everything manageable. Seeing an outline of you should complete will make you mentally focused and give you a sense of fulfillment every time you tick out a task on your list. It is key to do this list the night before you go to bed.

This morning routine will bring success, a sense of fulfillment and happiness throughout your day.