Getting up early, as we all know, sucks.
Until it doesn’t.
I’ve struggled with sleep issues my entire life (self-imposed as it turns out … more on that later) so waking up early has been a consistent hurdle to overcome.
Turns out when you become a dad, though, your screaming infant DGAF.
Babies have a way of completely disrupting your life. (For the better!) It’s your job — well, one of your jobs — to keep that life humming along and on track to the best of your ability.
I’ve found that this means protecting my morning routine and continually fine-tuning it to work better for myself and my family. Doing this sets my day up to be successful at all costs, no matter how little sleep I got the night before.
At the very least, it is imperative that you wake up and start your day before your kids wake up.
Too many times in my early dad days I learned the hard lesson of waking up in a frenzy as my daughter called to me from her crib. The day just starts off focusing on the baby’s needs — obviously important, don’t get me wrong — and not putting yourself in the right frame of mind/physical state to attend to them efficiently.
Looking back on my most and least successful days as a parent, it’s not hard to pinpoint which of them started off on the right foot and which didn’t.
I’ll get into my specific morning routine later on, but in the meantime here are some resources to learn why it’s important and how to start crafting your own.
- Morning Routine Peak State Checklist | Ben Hardy
- This 10-Minute Morning Routine Will Make You A Better Parent, Entrepreneur and Person | Thrive Global
- The Best Morning Routine (Backed by Science) | TaylorPearson.me
- You Get 25,000 Mornings as an Adult: Here are 8 Ways to Not Waste Them | JamesClear.com
- The Beautiful Mornings Challenge: Create a Sacred Morning Routine | Zen Habits
- The Miracle Morning Life S.A.V.E.R.S. – Simple Practices You Can Do Each Morning to Change Your Life | The Melodic Life
- The Scientific Argument For Waking Up Early | Thrive Global
- 300 High Achievers on their Morning Routine | NY TImes