Paul Brian
The most successful people I know are up before the sun ready to go.
Before the clock hits 9 a.m. they have already completed a number of things which I rarely even get to. This is a look at what disciplined people do every day before 9 and how you can benefit from these same habits!
Let’s go!
1) Wake up
Discipline starts with getting up early.
Our bodies are designed to rise with the sun, so early rising is more than just somebody’s opinion, it’s built into our biological design.
When you get up around 5 or 6 a.m., you give yourself many more hours in the day and get things off to a cracking start.
You become the master of your sleep instead of sleepiness and fatigue being the master of you.
You also make it easier to fall asleep at a decent hour at night since you are more tired from waking up early.
2) Make the bed
Making your bed in the morning is more than just an afterthought.
It’s a way to divide night from morning and to start the day with a conscious decision to impose order instead of just letting things slide.
As US Navy SEAL Admiral William McRaven noted in his commencement speech at the University of Texas here, making your bed in the morning is the key to a successful life.
“Changing the world can happen anywhere, and anyone can do it,” he observes. “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day,” he adds.
It’s the start of a series of tasks successfully done.
“If you can’t do the little things right, you can’t do the big things right.”
3) Hydrate and stretch
Your body needs water, and so does your mind. Hydration is key to waking up your organism and your mental clarity.
4) Do light exercise
Next up is some light exercise.
It could be yoga or a light jog or brisk walk.
Get outside in the outdoors or do it in your room. The key is to be active and warm up to the point that you may even break a sweat.
You want to be in your body and ready to face the day with a gung-ho feeling coursing through your veins.
When you don’t want to exercise, do it anyway. You’ll face the day with a much better mentality and sense of physical vitality.
5) Shower and groom
Showering and grooming are another key task to get done before 9 a.m.
Wash and clean your body, style your hair, deal with facial hair and step out feeling refreshed and ready to face the world.
Put on well-fitting clothes and get ready for work, dressing in a way that makes you feel empowered and capable.
Grooming and style isn’t just about how you look or the appearance you have in the outer world, it’s equally and even more so about the internal message you are sending to yourself:
A message of empowerment, comfort and confidence.
6) Pray or meditate
Prayer and meditation are both extremely helpful options for the disciplined person.
Just as you may often feel like you don’t want to exercise, the prospect of a spiritual moment in the morning may seem undesirable.
It may even come across as a waste of time or something that won’t do any good.
But it will do a world of good to sit for a few moments and observe your breath going in and out or pray to whatever power or powers you revere. This is your time to focus your energies and become centered in yourself for the day.
Take that time for yourself. You deserve it.
7) Review daily goals
After taking the time to meditate or pray, it’s a moment to review your daily goals.
Ideally, these should be written down the night before, but you can also draw them up in the morning.
Disciplined people treat each day like they are getting a job list.
These may be tasks you need to do at your job as well as aspects of your personal life or self-development you plan to work on that day.
They may also be fitness goals or even things like shopping and practical matters.
Include the top goals on there and go through them in the morning. Knowing what you have to do in the day will keep you much more focused and motivated.
8) Make breakfast
It’s easy to skip breakfast or just grab a quick snack that’s not healthy.
Some people prepare breakfast the night before, but I recommend that you build discipline by making a brief but nutritious breakfast after waking up.
It gets you into the swing of things for the day and doesn’t have to take long at all.
Lay out ingredients in the fridge the night before and blend them into a nutritious smoothie in the morning. You can drink it on the way to work if you are pressed for time.
Breakfast is a crucial part of every day!
9) Answer priority emails on the way to work
Many people end up spending hours of their day playing catch-up at work.
Then they get so exhausted that their productivity flags and they end up not getting half as much done as hoped.
The solution is to get ahead of the curve by answering some priority emails, voicemails, and texts on the way to work before you even get there.
At 8:30 a.m. you’ve already fired back five quick responses and are able to show up at your desk or work site and start actually getting things done without having to focus on catch up.
What’s the point of being disciplined, anyway?
After reading this article you know the nine key habits of disciplined people.
But what’s really the point of being disciplined? It’s not for bragging points, and it’s not to get a great body or even just have better mental or physical health.
Sure, those are all benefits, but they’re not the core purpose of discipline.
The real, essential purpose of being disciplined is that you can focus on the essential.
When you’re not disciplined you’re distracted by impulses, random desires, distractions and time wasting. You wake up halfway through the day. You eat so much that you get sluggish and fall back asleep.
When you cultivate discipline you shed a lot of that deadweight and are left with the essential: you and your mission in life as well as the people you love and care about.
