The Most Important Routine

Being the self-help junkie that I am, I’m obsessed with routine. For the last two years, I’ve slowly crafted my morning routine. Doing so has allowed me to read, study Japanese, journal, write, and workout consistently. I’ve refined, re-organized, and tested my morning routine until it became automatic.

My focus has always been the morning routine since this is when I‘m most productive. I believe the Rich Dad, Poor Dad philosophy of always paying yourself first, and while Robert Kiyosaki was referring to money, I think we should pay ourselves first with our time as well. This is why I do the most important things first thing in the morning.

After two years, I’m still pretty awful with my morning routine. I can’t wake up consistently for the life of me. Sometimes I miss my Japanese lesson. Other times I skip the gym, and getting myself to write is like getting a dog to go to the vet. I keep tweaking my morning routine, expecting it to click, but it hasn’t.

This is because I’ve had it all wrong for the last two years. As I’ve focused on my morning routine, I’ve slowly realized it’s not the most important routine.

The most important routine is your nighttime routine.

The reason is this: Your morning routine begins the night before.

If you don’t go to bed consistently, how do you expect to wake up consistently? If you spend your time in bed on your phone, how do you expect to wake up ready to tackle the day? If you watch one more episode of that TV show, how do you expect to wake up on time?

I’ve never put that much attention into my nighttime routine. And when I do, it lasts about as long as a moth near a flame.

The nighttime routine is tough because that’s when our will-power is depleted. It’s easy to cave into one more episode on Netflix, reading an extra chapter, checking social media, or eating a snack before bed. You’ve had a long day. You deserve it. But these actions are directly sabotaging tomorrow.

I’ve always thought of a routine as a linear line—morning to night. But routine is a cycle. Night leads to morning. Morning leads to night. The key to the best morning routine is the best night routine.

My focus for the rest of 2021 will be perfecting my night routine since it’s the most important routine.

Remember, make it a great day or not; the choice is yours.

T