“Successful Mornings Depend on Productive, Well-Planned Evenings”

I read another book this month, and being in the midst of finishing up grading for my teaching job, I made sure it was a short one, “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast” by Laura Vanderkam. (#Ad)

This blog is called “Plan on the Sunrise” simply because I am a morning person. In the evenings, I usually feel tired and worn out. I can even feel a little down about how things went on a particular day or with a certain relationship, just based on how cranky I am in the evening.

However, I am a strong believer in the rejuvenating power of the morning. Once the sun comes up the next day, I cannot stay asleep. I feel rested and even a little healed from whatever took place the day before, and this helps me feel ready to face another day.

So, when I saw a book about using time in the morning to set you up for success, I figured it couldn’t hurt to check it out. I love my morning time, but I’m not perfect and am always up for some new ideas when it comes to getting my day started right.

The Vanderkam book was a pretty short read, so I have a very short review. That said, I have a couple of takeaways that I hope will stay with me and will benefit you.

Review: Laura Vanderkam’s “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast”

I will be completely honest and note that this was not the most earth-shattering book on morning routines. It was made up primarily of anecdotes and just enough science to back up its advice.

This book basically said what you would expect it to say. Successful people make sure to get up early- often before others in their homes or workplaces are awake- so they can work on something important for themselves.

These leaders in their fields have just as many hours in the day as the rest of us. And, they understand that the early morning hours are when we can have uninterrupted time to do things that are both important to us, but sometimes hard to do unless we are truly fresh and able to focus.

In terms of the neuroscience, the book had an interesting, albeit short section, explaining that our minds have only so much energy and resources for problem-solving and creativity. I’m simplifying here, but basically this reserve becomes depleted as the day goes on, leaving us with less will power to do the things that take effort to complete or even begin.

I so wish there had been more about the science- how our minds are more energetic and willing in the mornings. Instead, there were a lot of anecdotes describing the morning routines of successful people. These ranged from company CEO’s to moms who worked in law firms.

I will also say that the big criticism I have about the book is that I don’t think it will work for everyone. For example, if you are a single parent of young children and have no childcare, you likely cannot leave the house at 4AM to hit the gym or go running.

The book also assumes that your mornings are your own- those who work second/third/fourth shifts or have jobs that require them to get up and start working when most others in the community are asleep will also not be able to just readjust their lives to fit in some “me time.” As with most self-help books, this one assumes that everyone is privileged to have a more traditional schedule and the flexibility to rearrange their mornings to suit their needs.

Despite those critiques, the book was interesting, and since it was short, I was able to read it quickly. While it was interesting to learn how people in positions of power spend their mornings, I was hungry for more information and will like find another book in the coming months to fill in some of these blanks. That said, I did have a couple of lessons I learned that I plan to use going forward.

Takeaways from Vandkerkam’s book

A couple of the lessons I learned from this book were discussed in a roundabout way. However, I think they are both really good points and could use some further fleshing out.

Choose One or Two Morning Projects

In nearly all of the anecdotes the author included in this book, the “successful people” had focused on one thing to focus on during their early morning time. This is important, because there are literally memes and funny videos that mock the elaborate morning routines YouTubers and other influencers are pitching on their channels.

So, for example, the book describes a woman whose workplace valued late work hours at the office rather than early morning facetime, so she used her morning time to devote to quality time with her child and elaborate family breakfasts. The Reverend Al Sharpton was noted to have struggled with his weight until he spent his mornings exercising. And, the “Happiness Project” author, Gretchen Ruben, decided her mornings were best spent clearing out her email inbox and having some personal time before getting started with her work.

The author notes that there is no right or wrong thing to spend your morning time on as long as it becomes a productive part of your day. And, the focus should just be on those few things.

It seems successful people do not get up at 4AM so they can train for a triathlon, do guided meditation with their spiritual guru, and write 1000 words of their latest book. Instead, they get up early to focus on the one or two things that wouldn’t get done if they pushed it off until the end of the day.

If you are in a position to rearrange your morning schedule, this is good news, since many of us might be thinking that a morning routine has to be a combination of all the possible constructive things a person might do in the morning. So, instead of trying to do and be all things (which is impossible), figure out where your passions or needs lie and focus on just one or two, at most.

Morning project ideas to get you started (and again, focus on one).

Although it was unspoken in the book, most of the examples the author included were of successful people working toward their goals. Goal-planning is important, but making progress in your journey to reach the goal is where we turn dreams into realities. Below are some areas where our goals can be worked on during those early morning hours.

Exercise/Fitness– This can be for weight loss, if that is something you and your doctor have agreed you need, or it can be to simply have more energy for the day and feel healthier. No surprises here, Vanderkamp noted that most people are more likely to stick with a fitness routine if they did so when they first got up and before the rest of the day’s obligations got underway. So, whether it’s hitting the gym with a personal trainer or attending a yoga class, the morning is a good time to establish this habit, if you can.

Meditation/Mindfulness. Trying to still your mind after a day of putting out fires is not likely to promote a calm meditation or mindfulness practice. Instead, if you are interested in giving meditation a try, get up early and make it the first thing you do in the day. Luckily, this is one morning practice that won’t require you to get up super early, as it’s hard to stay still for longer than a few minutes when you’re first trying to meditate. So, get up early enough to fit 5 minutes of meditation into your morning. As you become more comfortable with those few minutes, you can increase the length of your sessions over time.

Prayer/Scripture Study. Another practice that is hard to do at the end of a long day is prayer or studying scripture. Most people who want to have a daily faith practice tend to do it in the morning. Again, a gradual approach can work here as you start out with praying or reading scripture for a few minutes and adding to the practice as you learn more and deepen your faith.

Reading/Study. I’ve read about folks who use their morning time to learn another language or add to their knowledge of business principles. Getting up even a half hour early to increase your knowledge about a particular subject will ensure that you devote the time to this. This is especially important since study and learning are often difficult to do when put off to the end of the day when the mind is already worn out. I had a few law school classmates who were working part time jobs or had families while they attended school full time. They said they got up early to get their schoolwork done to make sure they didn’t put it off. These were the “successful people” I looked up to in my early professional days (and I still do!).

Writing. Whether you wish to establish a journaling practice or are hoping to publish a book, many professional writers swear by writing in the early morning hours. Getting up early allows you to meet certain writing goals such as number of pages written, writing for a set amount of time, or getting in a particular word count. With a fresh mind, that writing will be easier to complete and will likely produce better work.

Creative Projects. Writing is only one type of creative project that is best done in the morning. Others include art and musical endeavors (provided, of course, that you’re not going to wake up your family or neighbors with your music in the early hours of the day). I find that when I’ve scheduled myself to do a creative project first thing on a weekend morning, I’m more likely to get up before the alarm clock rings. The reason is that I’m so excited to start on my project, my mind cannot wait to get the day started. That momentum is often necessary to justify an early morning start.

Family Time. This part of the book was really intriguing to me. I liked the story of the mom who got to spend her early morning hours reading to her daughter and making fun breakfasts. I think this can change over time, however. Now that I have teenagers, we have to get up really early anyway, and they are not likely to want to give up their precious morning sleep time for chocolate chip pancakes no matter how fun I try to make the breakfast routine. But, if you have little ones that are going to be up early anyway, I think it’s a wonderful idea to use that time as quality time with the kids.

Use Your Evening Routine to Set Up Your Morning

Although the author of this book mentioned making sure you go to bed at a reasonable hour to justify the early morning wakeup time, I was surprised that she didn’t discuss this further. I honestly don’t believe you can have a successful morning unless you’ve set yourself up for one the night before.

The reason for this is that, as fresh as we are in the mornings, there simply isn’t enough time to do everything that needs to get done before the day begins and have time for a morning project. Mornings have the potential for chaos.

For those with children, mornings mean getting people up and ready for school, camp, or whatever else the day brings. Even if you don’t have kids, there are still breakfasts to make, things to pack up and take (out the door to a workplace or even to a home office for remote work). Everything from packing lunches to finding car keys can be a crisis if left to the morning.

To have a smooth morning means that most of those tasks are already taken care of or have been set up the night before. The more we can delegate to our evening routine, the easier our mornings will go. And, less stressful mornings mean we won’t be tempted to give up on our morning passion project just because the daily demands of running a home or doing work have once again taken priority.

Some basic things you can do to set yourself up for a good morning:

Check Your Planner. Or your family calendar, or your digital calendar- whatever it is you use to manage your schedule and obligations. As long as your planner is up to date and has all of your obligations and to dos, you can check it to see if there’s anything special you need to get ready for the next day, including nice clothes for a special event, money for the kids’ pizza lunch day, or just remembering to fast before a doctor’s appointment. Unless you have checked your planner, you might be sabotaging your morning.

Check the Weather. This is right up there with checking your planner. If rain or some other inclement weather is on the horizon, best to be prepared the night before. That way you can have clothing ready and even make sure your transportation is lined up for the next day. Depending on where you live and where you have to go, checking the weather might result in your rearranging your morning schedule to account for anticipated delays in your commute.

Set Out Clothing. This one is so simple, but it’s easy to put it off. Just get in the habit of setting out any shoes and accessories for the next day. If you’ve checked your planner and the weather, you should be able to take the guesswork out of what to wear and save yourself time rummaging through drawers or the closet for something appropriate to put on.

Get Bags and Belongings Ready. There is nothing worse than running around in the morning looking for the things you need to leave the house. Make sure your keys are where they need to be, your purse and bags have their required items (wallet, ID, license, whatever). Leave them in a place where you will be sure to see them before you head out for the next day. This also goes for working remotely. After a year of working from home, I learned to leave my home office ready for my next work day. It ensures I will be far more productive when I get started the next morning.

Leave Common Areas Tidy. There is nothing worse than stubbing your toe because you tripped on an instrument case your kid left out the night before (this is a true story). Something like that can derail plans for an early morning workout as you are forced to shift from focusing on fitness to icing a wound. There’s no need to be a perfectionist, but do a quick once over before you go to bed. Make sure there’s nothing out that will tempt you to set aside your morning project in favor of dealing with a household issue. So, walk through the house and make sure things that belong in the fridge are put away, the floors are clear, and rooms are relatively tidy. Start the dishwasher and put away folded laundry. You’ll feel better about doing things for yourself when these common areas are in control.

Prep for Breakfast/Lunch. Make sure your sink is clean, the coffee pot is ready to be run, and your breakfast items are somewhere you can easily find them (near the front of the pantry or fridge). If you or your family take a lunch with you out of the house, definitely make the lunch the night before. It feels like making lunches takes longer in the morning. Again, time saved doing these the night before will ensure your morning doesn’t feel overwhelming.

Prep Morning Project Items. This should be obvious, but just in case, I’m going to spell it out. Whatever you plan to get up early to do the next morning, be sure to prep for it the night before. So, if your plan is to do a Pelaton workout, set out your workout clothes along with whatever else you plan to wear after your workout. If you plan to journal or study scripture, set up the place where you plan to do this practice so that the space looks inviting. If you plan to do something creative, leave out in a tidy fashion whatever items you use for inspiration or materials for the project. Just knowing that these things are ready to go will make it harder for you to hit the snooze button and leave it for the next day.

In short, if you can prep something the night before, do so.

The Importance of Rest

But, the most important thing you can do is to get a good night’s sleep! I will be the first to say that this is hard for me. I tend to burn the candle at both ends, so I hope you’ll do as I say and not as I do.

The simplest advice is to figure out how early you need to get up to have the “me time” necessary for your morning project. Then, backup 7-8 hours before that and you have your recommended bedtime. Sleep is important, and I keep hoping I will make it more of a priority for myself. Be sure to do this for yourself and get your rest. Also, if you have trouble getting up in the morning, try this alarm clock that we bought for our son- it has both sound, light, and movement to get you going. (#Ad).

Suggestions for winding down at night so you can be fresh in the morning:

Turn Off Screens. Smart phones, laptops, tablets, TVs- they all emit light, and particularly blue light. This is the type of light that interferes with the body’s ability to produce the sleep hormone, melatonin. So, it’s important that you turn off gadgets at least an hour before you need to go to bed. Instead, read a book, color in a coloring book, or just listen to music.

Avoid the Fridge. Those late-night snacks can send a signal to your brain that the day isn’t over because, hey, we have food to digest! It can also lead to problems like acid reflux, which can disturb your sleep and leave you with heartburn and even sore vocal cords. So, try not to eat after dinner. If you need something to signal to your body that the kitchen is closed, brush your teeth after you eat so you won’t be tempted to snack.

Avoid Social Media, News, Email, Etc. There’s is a two-fold reason for this. First, the devices we use to interact on social media, get news, read email, or take in similar information usually emit those pesky blue lights (see above). And, second, the information you are collecting from these sources may leave your mind unable to settle down and get some rest. That may be because you’re tendency to scroll through social media feeds leaves you scrolling for more. Or, it could be that stressful information is waiting for you in your inbox or on the news, which could leave you to anxious or upset to sleep. So, make sure that you’re tuning out for the evening at an early hour.

Read, Journal, and Relax. As long as you’re not taking in content that’s likely to get you all riled up at night, or using a blue lighted device to do it, it’s usually a good idea to read or write something as you relax yourself to sleep. Journaling has to be done sitting up, so if you’re going to do both, starting with journaling is a good idea. Use this time to unload some of the day’s stressors and process how you’re feeling so you have fewer unresolved issues to contend with at night. Feel free to read in a reclined position, so your body is already in sleep position and your eyes can start to close.

Try Warmth and Weight. Whether you use an electric blanket or heating pad, warmth can help to relax you and help you get to sleep sooner. Just be sure to turn off these items before you fall asleep as you don’t want to suffer any burns and your body tends to sleep better in lower temperatures. Weight also helps. If layers of heavy blankets might leave you too warm to sleep, try a weighted blanket. (#Ad).

Block Out Sounds and Lights. If random noises get you up at night or you’re sensitive to light (or work a non-traditional schedule that has you sleeping during the day) you may need some help blocking out those sensory distractions. Try a fan or white noise machine to help you stay asleep and block out noise disturbances. Even a white noise app can help. If you’re sensitive to light, go old-school Hollywood glam and wear a sleep mask. If that feels uncomfortable, try some blackout curtains to help keep your room nice and dark.

Prep Your Bed. Making your bed each morning isn’t just some nerdy or perfectionist habit. It can signal to your brain that a made bed means it’s time to be up, about, and productive. Similarly, at night, you can turn down your covers to tell your brain that it is time to go to sleep. Changing the sheets regularly is another habit that seems prissy but really helps with sleep. Our sheets get filled with all sorts of allergens (I won’t gross you out with details), so a weekly bedding change can ensure that you’re breathing well at night and in a comfortable space.

Much of what I covered in this article are things I know you’ve heard before. But maybe you, like me, could use a refresher and some inspiration to retool how you think about your mornings. I hope these ideas provide a little motivation to do something that is just for you- whatever that passion or goal is.

Are you a morning person? Do you have the option to incorporate these kinds of ideas into your morning? What tips can you share about preparing for a more productive day? Leave a comment and let me know!

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** Images in graphics found on Canva. Images of hanging clothes, morning bowl, and bed at nighttime found on Unsplash. Images of clock, bible, woman running, and woman at window found on Pixabay.

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