“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.” - Aristotle

Mornings are the most sacred time of my day. Creating a good morning ritual has had the most positive impact in my life recently. I am a very happy human on days when I wake up early as I feel a great sense of calm and control. I have been tinkering with my morning routine for a while and finally I have a schedule that I really like.

Here is what my mornings looks like.

• 4:55 AM - Wake up and Brush Teeth.
• 5:00 AM - Make Tea.
• 5:15 AM - Work on DomReactor.
• 7:15 AM - Wake up Deepti.
• 7:20 AM - Meditate.
• 7:35 AM - Shower and Shave.
• 8 AM - Make Breakfast (Protein Shake).
• 8:30 AM - Go to work.

I try to keep decision making to a minimum in the morning and follow this routine without much effort now. Also, in order to get up early, you have to go to bed early. I am in bed by 10 PM most nights and get around 7 hours of sleep which works perfectly for me.

#So why wake up so early?

Early mornings are great for working on the most difficult tasks of the day. Your mind is fresh after a good night’s rest and its easy to get in the zone. There are minimal distractions as almost everyone is still sleeping. Also, it feels great to accomplish a couple of tasks on your todo list before most people have even started their day.

Another reason I like waking up early is that I get some alone time. I can spend this time on doing anything I want. I could work on DomReactor, read or may be write for a bit. My wife is still sleeping so I don’t feel guilty of working and not spending time with her.

I have a full time job as a software engineer and it gets extremely difficult to concentrate on tasks after working an entire day. This is another reason I like to do all creative work early in the mornings. I reserve my evening almost exclusively for working out and my family.

Another reason I love waking up early is that sometimes I get to see the sun rise.

How can you create a good morning ritual?

Just like any habit, it takes a while to get into a good morning routine. Here are some of the tips that have helped me get into the morning habit.

• Start small.
  Try waking up 15 minutes earlier than your usual wake up time for a few days. And then iterate on that.

• Go to bed early
  This is a no brainer. The earlier you go to bed, earlier you would be able wake up. If you plan to wake up 15 minutes earlier, you need to go to bed 15 minutes before your usual bed time.
• Plan your next day the night before.
  Write down your schedule for the next day before you go to bed. Knowing what the next day has in store for you builds excitement and it would help you get out of bed early.
• Don’t beat yourself up
  If you fail a few times, don’t worry about it. Just keep at it and work towards it.

So what does your morning routine look like? Have you been trying to build a morning habit? I would love to hear about it. Email me or hit me up on twitter @shubhambansal.