Daily Stretch #7: Challenge your morning routine

I’m not a fan of the 5 AM club. Not everyone is an early riser. Night owls won’t benefit from starting their day too early in the morning. We are all different. Not every recipe works for everyone, as I suggested here.

So, why I’m encouraging you to wake up one hour earlier then?

I want you to challenge your morning routine, to do something different and explore what happens. I don’t want to change how you sleep. Or who you are, for that matter.

I’m not a morning person myself. My highest productivity point is in the afternoon. I feel more relaxed and focus at night. That’s when I do my writing. So waking up too early is hard for me.

Yet, every now and then, I like to go out for a bike ride early in the morning. It challenges me. But I love riding on the empty roads. Or to enjoy the feeling that everything and everyone are getting ready.

Those changing colors, the calm before the storm, are a powerful source of energy.

Today’s stretch: challenge your morning routine

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.” — Paul Valery

I’m not asking you to change your sleeping pattern. I’m inviting you to change your routine and see what happens.

Radical changes make people frustrated. A small dose of change is a better way to move us into action. And experiment.

You can do this stretch just once or one day per week. It’s your call.

Today’s stretch: challenge your morning routine. Read that book that’s been lying next to you for weeks. Go for a walk with your spouse. Write your dreams (make sure you keep that page handy). Meditate. Exercise. Fix something.

Do something you’ve been postponing because you didn’t have an extra hour.

Enjoy having extra time to do what you want.

Don’t listen to your excuses

“I’m not a morning person.”

“It’s hard to wake up earlier.”

“I will feel tired the entire day.”

Stretch, reflect & grow

Use the following questions to reflect once you’ve practiced this new stretch:

• How did you feel waking up earlier than normal?
• What did you do with that extra hour? Why?
• What have you learned by disrupting your routine?

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