Author: Laura Vanderkam
About the Book: “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is a fun, practical guide that will inspire you to rethink your morning routine and jump-start your life before the day has even begun.”
What time do you usually wake up? What do you do when you wake up in the morning?
The Madness of Mornings
In this chapter, she gives a brief look into how her mornings were and her attitude throughout the day.
Discuss what each person does every morning and what their normal day looks like. Do they feel they have enough time for everything in the day?
“If you wait until the end of the month to save what you have left, there will be nothing left over. Likewise, if you wait until the end of the day to do meaningful but not urgent things like exercise, pray, read, ponder how to advance your career or grow your organization, or truly give your family your best, it probably won’t happen.”
Do you agree with her statement?
A Matter of Willpower
“What Baumeister and his colleagues took from this experiment is that “willpower, like a muscle, becomes fatigued from overuse.”
Do you feel like you can only use your willpower a certain amount during the day? Do you feel you have more willpower in the morning vs at night?
Important, But Not Urgent Things
“The most successful people use their mornings for these things:
1. Nurturing their careers—strategizing and focused work
No interruptions, you choose a priority everyday and get that done in the “project time” in the morning
2. Nurturing their relationships—giving their families and friends their best
Getting up earlier in the morning to spend time or chat with those you may not see that much throughout the day, writing a thank you or how are you letter to someone
3. Nurturing themselves—exercise and spiritual and creative practices”
Spending time doing something for yourself in the morning: exercise, praying, reading
One person writes down things he is grateful for in the my morning
“If you’re thinking about things you’re looking forward to, that makes it easy to get out of bed. What your brain focuses on becomes your reality.”
Do you agree with these three points? Do you spend your mornings on these?
How to Make Over Your Mornings
Does anyone remember the five steps? Can you take a guess?
1. Track Your Time
Write down what you’re doing as often as you can with as much detail to figure out what you are using your time on
2. Picture the Perfect Morning
What would a perfect morning look like for you?
3. Think Through the Logistics
How could you implement this? How long will it take you? Map it out
4. Build the Habit
Start slowly so you don’t get tired after the fifth day, set small goals, one new habit at a time to introduce, create a reward system for yourself
5. Tune Up as Necessary
Your routine is allowed to change if your life is changing
Wrap Up
Who tried these steps? What are your thoughts? Do you think these tools will help your willpower and productivity?