On Your Mark: Starting your daily race with a morning routine
September 19th, 2008The sun shone overhead as the runners adjusted their starting positions. A gentle breeze blew across the field and a flag flapped proudly above the stadium. The 400 meter race was the highlight of the day. The fans were almost breathless waiting for the shot to begin the race. The runners squatted into the starting blocks, their muscles tense with energy. The audience was still under the spell of anticipation.
In the silent moments before the starting shot rang out, one small childish voice asked loudly (because kids don’t ask anything unless they ask it loudly), “Mommy, why is there a runner starting halfway down the field?”
Anyone who has ever watched track and field events knows that it is ridiculous that a runner would start at the half way point of the race. Every race is run from the starting point. Even before the shot goes off, an Olympic runner will carefully dig out a place for his feet in the starting position. This careful preparation ensures a good start to the race.
Each new day marks the beginning of a 24 hour race. I’m not suggesting that you have to live at a frantic pace or try to break world records with each new day, but you have a starting line and a finish line. You are in charge of the performance during the race.
Each day needs a starting position.
Every morning I wake up and make breakfast. I usually start by putting on the tea kettle to heat water for coffee. (I gave up my coffee maker about 2 years ago for a single serving french press). While the water is heating I put together something for breakfast and take my vitamins.
After eating breakfast, I take my coffee over to my red chair. Every morning I have a date with the page. I sip my coffee while I write out 3 pages of nonsense, longhand–yeah the old fashioned, pen and paper way. These morning pages help me sort out my thoughts before I try and start the day. For 3 pages, I just write whatever comes to mind. Sometimes my morning pages look like a to-do list in paragraph form. Sometimes I use them to vent.
Breakfast, coffee, and morning pages. This is how I set up my starting point for my daily race. Once I have my pages written, I am ready for the gun to go off and the race to start. If I don’t set up my day with my morning routine, (you could even call it my pre-day routine), I will feel off for the rest of the day. The success of a runner may be determined with the careful set up of the starting position. Similarly, the success of my day is determined by careful set up of my starting position.
Everyone needs a starting position for each new day. Whenever I skip my morning routine, I feel rushed and unproductive. The whole day feels “off”, ESPECIALLY if I turn my computer on before I set up my day.
The thing is, everyone has that morning routine. I think we all know what we need to start our day out right, but the lure of a few more minutes of sleep or the rush to get things started right away overwhelms the quiet call to start off on the right foot.
What should your morning routine look like? Starting tomorrow you can start creating your morning starting point by focusing on just one habit (eating breakfast every day perhaps?). When you set up your day with even one simple routine, your mind will be conditioned and you will be mentally prepared to run a strong race each new day.
