"We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence then is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

By creating routines or rituals that force you to discipline yourself to do certain necessary tasks each day, you can practically become successful by default. Having a morning ritual, is the single most important step you can take to have a successful and productive day.

Here are 9 routines successful people do every single morning. Try adopting a few of them and see if you’re not enjoying more success in your life.

To have a great morning, have an evening planning ritual. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the research shows it works. The evening planning ritual is simply a list of what it is you hope to accomplish in any given day. Add to that what time you will do the task and where you will do it. It is always best to have one prepared the night before. This will not only save you a step in the morning, but it will also enable you to compile the list when tasks and goals are fresh on your mind from the day just completed.

The agenda should function as something of a mission statement for the day. Though you may get off course from time to time, by reviewing your agenda you will be able to get right back on track quickly. I generally focus on 3 important items to get done every day.

Planning your day at the start of the day is one of the biggest time wasters of the day. You are more likely to get sucked in by the firefighting instead of focusing on the important tasks.

It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in the morning simply by getting up an extra 20 or 30 minutes early. That will not only give you time to do what you need to do, but it will also allow you to do it in a slower and more thoughtful way. And that can leave you less stressed and more prepared for the day ahead.

Most people are not able to jump out of bed and immediately launch into action. We need some sort of transition between sleep and full functionality. I start my day with the 6 Phase meditation by Vishen Lakhiani. This will enable you to get yourself centered and focused, as well as to key into the higher- or inner-power that you ascribe to.

Over 1400 studies have shown the positive results of meditation. It enhances your brain functioning by making the membrane between the left and right brain thicker. This results in improving your creativity and logical mind. The mind works more holistically. It up levels the mind and body. This also boosts focus, attention, and productivity.

Meditation also floods the body with alkalizing and happy hormones like endorphins and serotonin. It uplifts your mood and counters the effects of stress.

Some sort of physical activity is optimal to bring the body fully up to speed. It could be calisthenics, yoga, taking a short walk, or a quick jog. The idea is to get the blood flowing because once it does your body starts to fire on all cylinders.

I personally do rebounding on a mini trampoline for 15 minutes. On alternate days I do 10 minutes of rebounding with 5 minutes of Tabata which is a high impact Intensity Interval Training system.

It only takes 4 minutes 20 seconds to complete a Tabata workout and gives you a full body workout. I love both these forms of exercise as they are very time efficient and yet effective. You don’t need to spend hours in the gym to get results.

If you hope to be successful in life, you should have a carefully written list of affirmations and long-term goals. That list should be someplace obvious, like your bathroom mirror. The idea is that you is (have it where you can’t ignore it, and that way you will be forced to review it every day.

Affirmations are positive statements about yourself, life and business that you declare out aloud. For example, you may want to repeat to yourself often that “Every day in every way my life is getting better and better” or you could say “I’m a great salesperson”. None of those may be what you are today, but you use those affirmations to move in that direction over a long period of time.

Long-term goals establish your direction in life. It’s important to review those each workday so that you will realize that today is a step toward completing those goals. I have created a Vision Board with key pictures and words of my long term goals. It is as if I’m seeing the perfect future. I do my rebounding in front of my Vision Board.

The idea is that you should have your own vision of yourself and your future in front of you at all times. That way you will be able to spend this day pushing yourself just a little bit closer.

As you are going through your morning, rehearse certain situations that you expect to have happen. This could include sales calls, meetings, personal interactions, and even phone calls and emails. This will get your mind plugged into the tasks ahead, that way you will have some idea as to what you will do in advance, which will also give you the ability to make revisions before the actual event.

Lots of people skip breakfast, either because they don’t have the time or because they are hoping to lose weight. Both are a bad idea. A healthy breakfast will help to prepare your body for the day ahead. Eat too much, and you’ll feel sluggish. And if you eat nothing at all you’ll still feel sluggish! The idea is to find a balance that will give you the energy that you need to have the most productive morning possible.

If I’m having a Tabata routine that day, then I will start with a protein shake with some coconut oil and ghee. These are good fats that help power me for the day. If I have only done my rebounding that day, I will have either a green smoothie (e.g. Green apple, celery, small banana, coriander, and mint) or masala oats with a tablespoon of ghee.

This healthy breakfast ensures that I have a controlled blood insulin level. It makes sure I don’t have an energy crash at during the rest of the day.

Brian Tracy called the car the university on wheels. I usually fed my mind with positive talks or learn something using audio programs. This is the area where we can all use a little bit of help. Very few people are capable of keeping themselves in a high state of motivation on a permanent basis, or even most of the time. But by adding motivational instruction to your morning routine, you get help giving you the push that you need to go forward and accomplish all that you plan to.

I schedule the most important work of the day first thing in the morning. Focus on an income producing activity. I schedule the first 90 minutes for such tasks. They are important and not urgent. They are tasks that help move my business forward. Resolve not to procrastinate! Don’t heck email first thing! As soon as you reach your workspace – whether it is a home office or a remote office – you must get working immediately.

How you handle the beginning of your day will carry over to everything else that you do for the rest of that day. Slay your dragons early and you will have a sense of accomplishment that powers you throughout the day. Procrastinate early, and you will be playing catch-up for the rest of the day. Catch-up is no way to be successful at anything. You need to be ahead of your assignments, and never behind.

Implement as many of these routines into your morning as you can. You will begin to see improvement almost immediately. As you do, you’ll begin to realize a bigger goals in life are more attainable than ever.