I regularly read about productivity hacks and high-achieving individuals that are making a positive difference in the world. In particular, Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income has made a significant impact on my life through the wisdom he’s shared and the other successful entrepreneurs he’s introduced through his blog, podcast, vlog and books. I can’t gush enough about what an amazing human he is, so I apologize ahead of time for how many times I will reference Pat and SPI.
One of the consistent themes espoused by the successful gurus of productivity and entrepreneurship is to develop and follow a morning routine. In fact, Hal Elrod has built his brand around this following the success of his book, The Miracle Morning. Personally, I like to refer to it as a Morning Ritual though, because it’s most effective when done almost religiously on a daily basis. In fact, prayer or meditation is often incorporated into the morning routine of those who’ve implemented this life hack. I won’t rehash why a morning ritual is so critical to personal growth and success, but if you’re interested in learning more, check out Episode #140 of SPI for a very helpful introduction.
I’m finally kicking off my own Morning Ritual to coincide with the launch of this blog. Like goal setting in general, putting a morning routine in writing significantly improves the chances of sticking with it. Posting it online makes it even more concrete and provides added accountability. Of course, mine is most definitely still a work in progress, but I’ve been doing some of this already and now want to build upon it more thoughtfully.
The first step of my Morning Ritual as it stands today is to Rehydrate Plus. Our bodies lose a lot of water as we sleep, so it’s important for our physical and mental health to rehydrate as soon as we get up in the morning. Since I’m a light sleeper and tend to get up a few times each night, I actually keep a big tumbler of water nearby to sip on throughout the night. That also makes it convenient to start rehydrating as soon as I roll out of bed in the morning.
Why “Rehydrate Plus“? I recently learned that drinking lemon juice first thing in the morning helps ramp up our metabolism while detoxifying and flushing out our digestive system. Waiting 20-30 minutes before having breakfast ensures our stomachs have time to maximize the absorption of the lemon juice and water before diluting it with anything else…..including coffee!! That latter part is going to take some getting used to, but I’ve survived a few days of doing this already.
To bee honest (sorry, couldn’t help myself), drinking lemon juice is not easy to get used to. Since concentrated lemon juice can eat away at tooth enamel, it’s best to dilute it with water anyway. However, adding too much water just prolongs the agony of it all, so I try to keep it down to about 3 big sips so I can gun it like cheap tequila shots. Fortunately, those wiser than me recommended adding a little honey as well which helps cut the sourness without a significant glycemic response. Additionally, it’s said that using high-quality locally-made honey may help reduce allergies specific to the local pollens bees are attracted to. If nothing else, you’re helping support your local beekeepers and hopefully helping rebuild bee populations to prevent their extinction.
Apparently, I had more to say about step one than I had expected, so I’ll save the next steps for future posts.
Thanks for following me through this adventure. Now go make today the most awesome one yet!
S. Mark Evans 