5:30am – iPhone alarm goes off. I walk to the bathroom, brush my teeth, put on my workout clothes, eat something light, and leave for the gym. The reality is that I didn’t want to get up this early and I’d rather be in bed. I will feel that way for the next hour and a half.
6:00am – I meet my trainer at the gym and get my butt kicked for an hour. I don’t particularly enjoy working out when I’m doing it but I’m always glad I did after the fact. I work with a trainer because I’ve learned if I’m not meeting someone at the gym then I’m not likely to actually go.
7:05am – As soon as I get home, I take my ADD and anti-hairloss meds. (If I don’t do it now, I’ll forget – I think its ironic that someone who is ADD is supposed to remember to take their medication…)
7:06am – I take a shower and then get dressed for the day. Usually I like to listen to an audiobook during my shower and thanks to my #LifeProof iPhone case and audible.com, I’ve got my entire library at my disposal. Today I’m listening to Brene Brown’s book Daring Greatly. I end my shower by cranking it to the coldest setting possible for the last minute or two. It took me a while to build up to this but now I no longer need coffee to get me going for the day. This shower gives my ADD meds a chance to kick in.
Amazon.com
7:35am – I open up my Olive Tree Bible app on my iPad and go through my daily reading plan, then I choose a daily Proverb to focus on. I create an image of the Proverb on my iPad and share it on Social Media for others. Then I spend some time in prayer. (subscribe to the twitter feed for the daily Proverb)
7:55am – I open my Legacy Countdown App on my iPhone and remind myself about how many more days I have with my children before I’m no longer their hero when I walk in the door. Today I see I have 815 days before my oldest (my daughter) might be too busy for me and I have 1,018 and 1,526 days before my boys might be too busy for me. My 15th wedding anniversary is in 678 days. And our massive family vacation is coming up in 266 days. I can’t wait! (click here to view my post that gives more detail on the Legacy Countdown App and why I love it) Finally, I think about one thing I can do today for each one of these guys. If it requires some advanced prep, I knock it out or schedule it.
Legacy Countdown App
8:10am – I have a quick breakfast with my family.
8:25am – I find a quiet corner of the home and start preparation for my professional day. First I review my monthly game plan. This snapshot shows me the most important things I need to accomplish in all of my businesses and roles. I compare to where we currently stand. From there I decide what the 5 most important things I need to accomplish for the day are and I notate these making sure each item on the list begins with a verb. Ron Friedman has a great article on this topic over at the HBR Blog Network: How to Spend the First 10 Minutes of Your Day.
8:35am – I visualize any important meetings or conversations I have occurring during the day.
8:40am – I spend 2 minutes power posing (#PowerPose). My wife always rolls her eyes when she catches me doing this but my #HBS professor, #AmyCuddy, is a genius. Check out her YouTube if you’ve never seen it before.
8:42am – I play a song that gets me pumped up for the day. Then I email a group of guys one word that says “done“. This means I’ve completed my daily routine. Then I get on with the day.
My Daily Routine
What you’ve just read about above is my personal daily ritual that I’ve been tweaking over the last 5 years. One of my most important #KeysToSuccess is this #DailyRitual. When I complete it my day is usually ultra-productive and without it I feel like I get blown about by the wind all day long.
I often hear people say they don’t have time for this stuff. Successful people make the time because they know that if they don’t, they won’t be nearly as successful.
Don’t copy my routine. You need your own and it needs to fit your unique needs. You’re probably disciplined enough to go to the gym without having to meet a trainer and probably don’t take ADD meds. Great! Change it and make it unique to what will benefit you the most. Just make sure it has the four critical components of a successful #DailyRoutine.
The four components of a daily routine that will make you more successful:
- It’s consistent. In my example, I meet with a trainer at the same time each day during the work week. That sets the tone for everything else that will happen in the daily ritual. I’m not naturally disciplined so this is a critical fix I made after failing to be consistent for 2 years.
- It forces you to contemplate the big picture and prioritize. In my case the Legacy Countdown app, the Bible reading, and the monthly game plan review are the pieces that help me remember what’s most important in my life.
- It focuses you on specific actions that need to be taken today. Narrowing the list to only 5 top action items for the day is usually a difficult exercise for me but that’s why it is absolutely critical. If you can’t count them on 1 hand, you have too many high priority items for the day and you’re less likely to accomplish them.
- It doesn’t allow for outside influences. Notice that checking email, browsing Facebook, or watching the news are never part of my daily ritual. Those things only serve as distractions that take us off course of what’s most important. Email, Facebook, and the news can all wait until later. They should never distract you from setting your own daily agenda.
People often ask what it is that allows #HighAchievers to be successful. Moving forward I will be featuring several posts and guest posts under the category #KeysToSuccess. Anytime you see that you’ll know you’re viewing a best-practice that is paramount to achieving your maximum potential.
Comment Below:
- What’s your daily ritual?
- Does it fit the 4 criteria?
- What changes have you made along the way or do you plan to make?
Bio for The Anonymous Donor
Executive and owner of a successful international business, a father of 3 children under age 15 (one with special needs), married more than 10 years to my college sweetheart, a multi-millionaire, a former professor, an avid reader, completed my graduate training at Harvard Business School (#HBS), and approach life as a follower of Christ. Passionate about helping other #HighAchievers to build stronger families and careers.
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