DobdobWhy most morning routines fail
The internet's ideal morning routine involves waking at 5am, meditating, journalling, working out, reading and drinking something green, all before 7. People try the whole thing on a Monday, manage most of it, then sleep through Wednesday. By the weekend it's gone.
The problem isn't the routine. It's trying to build six habits at once, at the time of day you have the least willpower and the warmest bed.
1. Start with one thing
Pick the single thing that would make the biggest difference. For most people it's simply getting up at a set time. Get that solid first. Everything else is easier once you're reliably vertical.
2. The night before decides the morning
A good morning starts the evening before. Decide your wake-up time and stick to a bedtime that makes it realistic. Put your phone across the room so the alarm makes you stand up. Lay out clothes, fill the kettle, pack the bag. Mornings go wrong when they're full of decisions.
Up by 7, you said. I'll be awake. I'm always awake.
3. Attach new habits to old ones
Once getting up is automatic, add the next habit by tying it to something you already do. This is often called habit stacking: "after I put the kettle on, I'll do ten minutes of stretching". The existing habit becomes the reminder, so there's nothing to remember.
4. Keep it short
A ten-minute routine you do every day beats an hour-long one you do twice. You can always lengthen it later. Keep the bar low enough that a bad night's sleep doesn't knock it out.
5. Decide about weekends
Either keep the same time at weekends, which makes Mondays much easier, or decide in advance that weekends are different. What doesn't work is deciding at 7am on Saturday, in bed.
6. Make getting up provable
"I'll get up at 7" is easy to fudge, especially to yourself. Make it a promise with a deadline and a witness: if you're not up by 7, someone finds out. It's remarkable how much easier it is to get out of bed when the alternative is your brother hearing about it.
How Dobdob helps
Make a promise like "Up by 7" on weekdays, pick a snitch, and prove it with a tap before the deadline. The deadline runs on our server's clock, so snoozing past it counts. Miss it and your snitch finds out. Once that's solid, add another promise: read 10 pages, a walk, prayers on time. Free gets you 2 promises; Supergrass adds as many as you like. More in how to stick to the gym if your mornings involve one.
Questions
How do I make a morning routine stick?
Start with one habit, usually a set wake-up time, prepare the night before, keep it short, and add a person who finds out if you miss it.
What is habit stacking?
Tying a new habit to one you already do, like stretching after you put the kettle on, so the old habit reminds you.
Should I get up at the same time at weekends?
It makes weekdays easier, but either way works as long as you decide in advance rather than at 7am in bed.