7 Things I Do Before 7 A.M. – Morning Routine For Success

Need to update your morning routine for success?

You’ve come to the right place!

There are plenty of posts, videos, and books on what a morning routine for success should look like. 

Why would mine be different?

Look again at my blog’s name – DoctorForLove.

It’s all about love – for ourselves and the people around us. 

That’s what makes my morning routine a little bit different. 

Plus, I have a few surprises for you – routines you haven’t seen before.

I wake up at 2:30 a.m. 5 days a week

If that’s too shocking, I suggest you head over to my other post explaining why I wake up so early.

My fiancée’s alarm goes off at 2:30, and none of us is happy about it, but we both get up. We used to get up at 4:30 a.m., and trust me, I was unhappy about it. Now I dream of going back to that schedule.

Oh well, it’s still a personal choice, and I have stuck with it for the last 5 months. (I would occasionally take a nap during the day, let’s say twice a week).

My body needs solid 6-7 hours of sleep, so my morning routine starts the evening before. I usually go to sleep at around 8 p.m. It doesn’t always happen, but I try to stick to the same hours as often as I can. This helps my body to adapt easier to the new lifestyle.

With that said, here are the 7 things I do before 7 a.m. every day for success. I call them The 7 Practices.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you sign up or make a purchase I might get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my business. See full disclosure.

1. Water – The Practice of Healthy Beginning

Drinking water is not my thing.

I struggle to drink more than a few glasses during the day. But my morning glass of warm water is always present. It keeps me hydrated, wakes up my digestive system, and helps my metabolism. 

2. 5 Minutes of Love – The Practice of Love

As I said, my fiancée wakes up for work at 2:30 a.m. I wake up with him because of one simple reason – I want to spend my first 5 minutes of the day with him (as well as my last 5 minutes of the day).

I prepare a cup of coffee and breakfast for him while he is in the bathroom. His work is very stressful, and he does loads of sacrifices so I could pursue my dream of working from home. 

Therefore, I believe that spending a little bit of time with him before he goes to work he doesn’t enjoy is the least I could do.

A morning kiss. A hug. A smile. Love doesn’t need much.

Therefore, I believe that spending a little bit of time with him before he goes to work he doesn't enjoy is the least I could do. A morning kiss. A hug. A smile. Love doesn't need much. Click to Tweet

3. Breakfast – The Practice of Mindfulness

Once my partner goes to work, I am alone and have the choice to either go back to sleep or to stay awake and do something with my time. I usually choose the second. 

Lately, I try to eat my breakfast with mindfulness. Mindfulness while eating means not to watch TV or check my phone. I used to read a book on my Kindle while having my breakfast but realised that’s not healthy.

I try to eat my breakfast with mindfulness. Mindfulness while eating means not to watch TV or check my phone. I used to read a book on my Kindle while having my breakfast but realised that's not healthy. Click to Tweet

We call it multitasking, and we believe doing more than one thing at a time is smart.

It’s not!

Actually, researches say that our brain isn’t capable of multitasking. What we believe is “doing two things at once” is our brain switching from one task to another very fast.

This causes a “neurobiological switching cost”. Simply put, when switching from one task to another new task, reaction time becomes longer, and error rates increase. (Source)

Translated one more time to understandable level – the longer we stick to a specific task without switching to another – the better we become in performing this task.

Back to my breakfast – reading and eating at the same time would have switching cost. Hence – I’m not going to enjoy my breakfast, and I won’t benefit fully from reading the book. 

Mindfulness while eating means focusing on the food only. With every bite, I explore the following things:  the taste, the smell, the form, the texture, the crunchy sound while I chew, the sweetness. I realise I’m full faster than I would usually, while distracted with something else.

Mindfulness while eating means focusing on the food only. With every bite, I explore the following things:  the taste, the smell, the form, the texture, the crunchy sound while I chew, the sweetness. I realise I'm full faster than I would usually, while distracted with something else. Click to Tweet

4. Sudoku – The Practice Of Waking Up The Brain

Yes, I’m aware we consider Sudoku as a game.

I also agree it’s probably not the best thing to do in the morning. But Sudoku improves memory and helps to develop logical thinking. It stimulates the brain and reduces the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Sudoku increases the concentration power and helps you learn things quickly. (Source)

Simply put – it activates the brain, and that’s something I need so early in the morning. 

5. Journal – The Practice of Reflection

I have two ways of journaling, and I choose only one every morning. 

First – simple journaling, braindump or morning pages, whatever you want to call it. It means writing down whatever comes on my mind. I start with expressing how I feel in the morning and proceeding with thoughts why I feel this way, and if that’s something I want to change or not. 

The second way of journaling – Gratitude. I must admit this is my favourite way of journaling. I’ve written so many times about gratitude, and I will keep writing because expressing gratitude for what I have and who I am, has changed my life. And by “change” I mean a big, massive change. 

Gratitude saved me from going into a deep depression; it helped me overcome internal struggles; it lifts my spirit and makes me appreciate what I have in life. It also motivates me to get better and better.

I sit down and write a full page of things I am grateful about. I always start with the material things, but my favourite ones are the qualities I have and want to develop. 

Want to know a secret?

One last thought on why practising gratitude is so beneficial for me – it’s my favourite way of manifesting my dream life. Whatever I want to achieve or whoever I want to be – I always manifested it in the form of gratitude like I already have it, or I am that person. 

6. Read – The Practise of Finding Pleasure

Reading and writing are my two favourite things to do in this world. Therefore, they both exist in my morning routine.

I know that if I want to be successful, I have to work hard and do many things I don’t enjoy (like waking up extremely early). However, if there’s something I enjoy doing and it is beneficial, I make sure to include it in my daily (preferably morning) routine. 

I read a few books right now. Every morning I choose one of them and focus on a chapter of it. I read mainly self-developing/self-help books and avoid novels in the morning. The idea is to stay in the present world and not distract me from what’s to come. 

7. Work – The Practice of Working On Your Dream

I write this last practice of my morning routine for success, and it’s almost 6 a.m. As you can guess, I am already working while many people still sleep.

This is my recipe for getting ahead in life – doing things most people don’t want to do, pushing my limits and getting out of my comfort zone. 

This is my recipe for getting ahead in life - doing things most people don't want to do, pushing my limits and getting out of my comfort zone.  Click to Tweet

Robin Sharma advises following the 90-90-1 Rule – dedicate the first 90 minutes of your next 90 workdays to the one thing (a project, work, study) that will lead you to your success.

My way to success and living my life as I want is to be an outstanding blogger and eventually – a writer (of books, not articles). To do that, I dedicate my first 90 minutes of my workday to writing. It works like magic.

I usually finish my posts around 7 -8 a.m. and I spend my day doing other things around the blog. 

What I don’t like about my routine

I’m not going to tell you I have the best morning routine ever. I love the fact I spend five minutes with the love of my life every morning, but there are things I am in control of and don’t do.

Exercising is one of them. As we all know, exercising in the morning is extremely beneficial. It boosts the energy in the body, clears the mind, brings more oxygen into the brain and all that’s vital for being productive. 

I don’t exercise in the mornings, and that’s something I really don’t enjoy.

Sometimes I do some yoga after 7 a.m. and meditate after that. But I wish it was more often than it is. I try to stick to going out of the house for an hour during the day as working from home could be very lonely and unhealthy. 

However, I don’t give up on the idea of including exercises in my morning routine in the future. 

What To Do Next?

Thank you for taking the time to read about my morning rituals that lead me to success. If you’d like to get more ideas on how to live your life in a way that makes you happy, subscribe to my blog – I’ve got plenty to talk about. 

What’s your morning routine? I’d love to see how your mornings go.

Also, here’s a list of more mindfulness and habits posts you might find useful:

• 42 TIPS ON HOW TO START LOVING YOURSELF TODAY
• 7 HABITS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ALWAYS HAPPY
• 17 TIPS ON HOW TO BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE FROM SCRATCH
• 77 LITTLE THINGS TO IMPLEMENT IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE FOR A HEALTHY LIFE

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7 Things To Do Before 7 A. M. – Morning Routine For Success

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