Challenge within a challenge: Routine for success

A few weeks ago I read an article on the Telegraph site called; ’14 things successful people do before breakfast.’ It was taken from a report from the World Economic Forum about how to make the most out of your mornings.

With my flatmate Charlotte going on holiday for 3 weeks I thought it would be the ideal time to try these 14 things on a daily basis. The article said that you don’t have to do all 14 things every day, just a selection but knowing me I’ll try and do all of them every day. 

So what are they? Here’s the list below:

1) Wake up early

2) Drink water instead of coffee

3) Exercise

4) Work on a top priority business project

5) Work on a personal passion project

6) Invest in family time, like reading stories to the kids or cooking a big breakfast together

7) Connect with spouses before you are tired from your daily activities

8) Make your bed

9) Network over coffee

10) Meditate to clear your mind

11) Write down things you're grateful for

12) Plan and strategies for the day ahead

13) Check your emails

14) Read the news

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The first thing I notice about the list is it contradicts itself it says replace coffee with water and then further down the list it says to network over coffee!

Some of the things I do already like checking emails and making my bed. One of the things that might take adjusting is the exercise. I do exercise but after work and not before. When I was uni I tried going for a run in the morning instead of the evening and could run only a fraction of what I could normally run. I think with that aspect I’ll just have to be strict with myself and be competitive and time myself and measure the distance.

I haven't got a spouse so for that part I will connect with the house, which means I'll do some tidying instead!

Now to do 14 things before breakfast is a tall order. I normally get up around 6.30/6.45 and leave for work around 7.30. In the article it said that 90% of executives wake up before 6am on weekdays, so for the routine of success I’m going to try and get up at 5.30 so I have 2 hours to get the things done before heading to work.

So let the routine of success begin, and it will be interesting to see whether any success comes my way during the next few weeks.