My Morning Routine Summary

Brief Summary:My Morning Routine dives deep into a common thread among high performers — a rock-solid sequence of early-morning habits.

Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander interviewed 64 standout individuals across a variety of fields. The morning routines they documented are as different and personal as the 64 subjects. What they have in common, however, is that they act as the subject’s “reset button.” Each routine starts the subjects off on the right foot, setting them up for a successful day.

Favorite Quote from Spall and Xander

Maybe you’ve had a day so bad it throws off your whole week or even your whole year.

What if you had a “reset” button you could press every morning? You could reset from that a bad yesterday and make the best of every tomorrow. Juget scrutinized relentlesslyst by pushing that button, every sunrise could be a new start, a chance to make the very best of your day, whatever it throws at you. Even if it feels like you lost every battle, you win the day. Stack enough won days up over a period of time, and you may end up achieving more than you ever thought possible. Nobody changes the world overnight. It happens gradually, one successful day at a time. The habits of successful people get scrutinized relentlessly. In the book “My Morning Routine,” you’ll get refined experience from successful people who have built routines and systems which allow them to get the most out of their lives.By identifying recurring themes within these routines, Spall and Xander provide a framework that could inspire readers to design their own morning ritual to help them win the day. Recurring themes that emerge from the interviews include early rising, “me-time,” and flexibility.

EARLY RISING

Early-rising emerges as a common thread. The subjects get out of bed as early as 4am, no later than 7:30am, and they skip the snooze alarm. Snoozing offers little extra restfulness to offset the waste of productive daylight.Many of the subjects cite the morning as the time when they do their best work. From executing one key task to writing a to-do list, to blocking out the first four waking hours, early-morning work sets the bar high.Many morning routines actually start the night before. Subjects engage in evening rituals such as laying out tomorrow’s clothes, logging off email and social media, enjoying a soothing chamomile tea, writing daily statements of gratitude, or winding down by reading.The gold standard of evening routines is a bedtime that ensures a good night’s sleep. Many subjects turn off screens and wear masks or goggles to protect the sleep cycle. The authors acknowledge the challenge of building a consistent bedtime into a busy lifestyle, but they note the perils of sleep deprivation to productivity.

ME-TIME

Work isn’t the only key to a successful morning. Subjects also get up early to grab a few minutes or hours of personal pleasure or self-care before the demanding workday kicks in.Exercise is a big one. Whether the focus is cardio, Pilates, or weight training, subjects agree that early-morning exercise boosts their energy for the day, and sets them up to go the distance for years to come.The interviews also turn repeatedly to meditation. Subjects praise the value of unclogging their busy brains for at least a few minutes each morning. This can range from an extensive daily practice to something as simple as focusing intently on brewing a cup of coffee.Other “me-time” activities range from fiction reading to tidying the home, to dictating last night’s dreams into a tape recorder.

FLEXIBILITY

While the subjects maintain admirable consistency in their routines, they stress that it’s essential to be flexible and adapt to a changing environment. Some even embrace interruptions not as a nuisance, but rather a welcome dose of variety.Numerous respondents noted the challenges that parenthood introduced to their morning schedule. They tended to adapt routines to include or even make an asset out of their children. A rambunctious child is a better motivator to rise early than an alarm clock, especially if it means extra family time.High-performing individuals often travel, which plays havoc on a morning routine. The subjects emphasized the value of maintaining at least some aspects of the routine while on the road.This could include grabbing their morning reading in the back of a cab, improvising a workout in a hotel room, or incorporating a ubiquitous chain like Starbucks.Even so, subjects stressed that it was important to give yourself a break. Some routines were bound to fall by the wayside on the road and could be resumed upon return.

My Morning Routine Review

Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander’s My Morning Routine is a captivating summary of interviews with 64 of today’s most successful high performers – entrepreneurs, writers, innovators.

What’s the common thread among them? They have a rock-solid sequence of early-morning habits.

Every successful person interviewed has a unique morning system, from meditation to working out to writing. The secret to creating your own morning habit isn’t any one routine; it’s doing what works best for you.