Cvijetic recommends creating a morning ritual--something that I (as a creature of habit) swear by. Highly recommend this, as a means of eliminating stress from your mornings, but also making best use of your time.

The key here is to create a ritual out of the high leverage activities you defined earlier, which help you achieve goals.

An example: If your goal is to start a blog, a high leverage activity would be to write an article every week.Your ritual would maybe be to write 30-60 minutes in the morning.

Additional tips to make your ritual even more efficient:

1. Drink water (500ml): Your body just went 6-8 hours without the water, it's time to renew it. (I like to drink my water warm, with a slice of lemon. That's just what works best for my body)
2. Do something that will make you feel proud (like making the bed).
3. Exercise: Nothing can kickstart your day like working out.It can be any type of physical activity (a gym, yoga, walking, jogging, swimming).
4. **My suggestion** Eat breakfast! And I mean a real breakfast, not a coffee on the road.
5. **My suggestion**: Give yourself at least 15-20 minutes before you check email/social media. I like to watch the morning news or read the paper first, before I "plug in".
6. **My suggestion**: Have a shower "mini ritual". I find that, especially in the winter months, using citrus-scented shower products really brightens my day and gives me jolt of energy. I take the time to pamper myself in the morning to avoid feeling burned out later in the day.
7. **My suggestion**: Meditate or do yoga for 5-10 minutes. This is critical to my morning routine and essential for finding balance before starting my other morning activities.
8. **My suggestion**: Crank the tunes. Like a boxer coming out to his fight song, I like to throw on high energy music in the mornings so I feel confident and ready to tackle the day head on. (Alternatively, on weekend mornings when I'm moving at a slower pace, i love listening to gentler sounds to ease into the day before I start my activities.

QUESTION: Do you have a morning ritual? What are some of the things that you "must do" before starting your day?