Ultimate Day Step 3: Set your Morning
“Ask yourself every morning, “What is my intention for this day?” Have a little internal conversation with yourself about what you want the day to look like. What are your big goals? Is there a problem you want to solve? Is there a commitment you want to make and keep?”
Crafting the ultimate day means making space for three things early on: setting intentions, setting priorities, and moving your body. Let’s go through each of these:
1. Exercise. I exercise in the morning for two reasons. One, I know I’ll do it because the time is fairly protected before anything else happens in the day, like my kids being around or a new meeting getting added. Two, because research tells us that physical activity increases brain activity. For example, students who exercise before their hardest academic classes increase their mental performance and achievement in those classes. There is a brain boost of a couple of hours following activity and, to a lesser extent, throughout the day. This is why, for me, when I win the morning by moving my body, I am much more likely to win the day. For you, if you’re a nighttime exerciser, that may be when you generate great ideas and insights you can execute on the next day. That’s a good system too.
Whether you exercise in the morning or evening or at any other time, pay close attention to the first hour of your day. Build a routine that sets you up to be your absolute best. You may not be able to follow it every single day, but when you can, you will be better for it.
2. Set your Intentions. After my workout, I’m into showering and breakfast. And somewhere in this block of time, I’m also setting my intentions and priorities for the day.
I ask myself every morning, “What is my intention for this day?” Often I’ll walk around a bit or look out the window or sit on my deck and just talk to myself for a few minutes. Have a little internal conversation about what I want the day to look like. What are my big goals? Is there a problem I want to solve? Is there a commitment I want to make and keep?
I might want to accomplish something specific in my work, or connect with my kids or with my wife. Each day is a little different. And each day has its own target – somewhere to shoot my arrows of time, energy, focus, and maybe finance.
3. Set your Priorities. Setting intentions leads naturally to setting priorities. If you know where you’re going, you can be deliberate about getting there.
Priority management is identifying the top three or four things that will help you to reach your intention that day, which also connects to your vision for your life. You might not get through your to-do list on any given day. But you may be able to get through your priority list. And unlike your to-do list, your priority list is about living your larger vision. It’s about achieving those three or so big goals you have set for yourself.
What’s most important to you today? That sets your intention. How are you going to get there? That sets your priorities. If you want to move your life forward in meaningful ways, don’t live randomly. Don’t live reactively. Prioritize and live intentionally.
Today’s Exercise: Set your Morning
Fill in the Step 3: Set Your Morning exercise on pages 6-7 in the Ultimate Day Workbook.
Today’s Bonus Podcast
Check out this podcast Here with Neil Pasricha, a speaker and researcher in positive psychology, as he and Greg discuss the topics of happiness, resilience, and living a world class life.
The information and advice provided in this program is intended to assist you with improving your performance, as well as your general health. It is not intended and should not be used in place of advice from your own physician or for treatment or diagnosis of any specific health issue. By participating in this program you acknowledge that undertaking any new health, diet and/or exercise regime involves certain inherent risks, that you assume such risks, and that you release Wells Performance Inc. from any responsibility or claim relating to such participation.