A Morning Ritual That Lasts Until Afternoon

I’ve read several articles recently about the significance of establishing a morning ritual, and I agree that it’s important. I’ve known for years that morning is my most productive time of day, so anything that really matters to me, I do then.

The only problem is that I have a *lot* of things that matter to me: Journaling. Meditating. Exercising. Evaluating and setting my goals, both for the current day and for the longer term, and making sure that those goals are in sync with each other and my overall mission and purpose.  Tackling the hardest thing on my to-do list and getting it out of the way is also something I enjoy doing first thing in the morning.

Basically I do my best exercise, my best thinking, and my best creating in the morning, making it at least noon before I get finished with my “morning” ritual.

Instead of thinking of it as establishing a morning ritual — since I think most morning people already *have* a morning ritual — I like to think of it as prioritizing my morning.

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All those things are important to me, but what is most important? What helps me accomplish the other things on my priority list?

For me, I loosely follow a pattern of meditating/quiet time/reflection on goals, exercising, and then tackling the biggest thing in my day that I’m dreading.  I say “loosely” since some days the exercise will come first and then I’ll backtrack and reflect on who I am and what I want to do, not just for the day, but more generally.  And some days I don’t find myself at the gym until 4:00pm.

Notice phone calls and emails are no where to be found on the list.  I do respond to all calls and emails, but it’s not how I like to start my day. I’ve found that when I do, I feel off-course and unfocused.  I suppose in many ways my system reflects Stephen Covey’s quadrants in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I try to have a conscious sense of what’s important to me, and I make sure those things are a priority as I start my day.

Is morning your most productive time of day? How do you prioritize your goals?