The First Hour: Creating Powerful Mornings

The First Hour: Creating Powerful Mornings

By Leo Babauta

As your day starts, it’s easy to get lost in the habit of checking messages(ˈmesij), replying(riˈplī) to email, checking the news and your favorite blogs(bläg).

It’s easy to fritter(ˈfritər) your day away doing a thousand(ˈTHouzənd) small harmless(ˈhärmlis) actions … but the essential(iˈsenCHəl) actions get put off.

The antidote(ˈantiˌdōt), I’ve found, is putting a little emphasis(ˈemfəsis) on making the first hour of your day the most powerful hour. Treating(trēt) that first hour as sacred(ˈsākrid), not to be wasted on trivial(ˈtrivēəl) things, but to be filled with only the most essential, most life-changing actions.

Sacred actions might include:

Meditating(ˈmedəˌtāt)

Journaling(ˈjərnl)

Reading

Writing (or creating in some other way)

Practicing or studying

Practicing yoga(ˈyōgə)

Exercising(ˈeksərˌsīz)

Focusing(ˈfōkəs) on your most important task of the day

On the days when I’m able to take those kinds of sacred actions, my entire(enˈtīr) day is changed. I am more mindful(ˈmīndfəl), I am more energetic(ˌenərˈjetik), and I’m more focused and productive.

Treating this first hour as sacred helps me to remember that every hour is sacred, if I treat it as such. It helps me to remember that I don’t have a lot of hours left (I have no idea how many hours are left!), and that I have to live each one with appreciation(əˌprēSHēˈāSHən) and mindfulness.

My Current(ˈkə-rənt,ˈkərənt) First Hour

The time that I wake up, and my morning routine(ro͞oˈtēn), has varied(ˈve(ə)rēd) over the years. It never stays the same, changing sometimes monthly. But when things tend to drift(drift) off into mindlessness, I refocus(rēˈfōkəs) myself and choose a sacred routine that I find helpful.

Here’s what I’m doing right now with my first hour:

A short meditation(ˌmedəˈtāSHən)

Write

Read

Study

Short yoga practice (or run with Eva)

I’ve only started doing this, so I keep each action fairly short (other than writing). The yoga practice, for example, is just a short series(ˈsi(ə)rēz) of poses(pōz), instead of a longer practice that I might want to develop over time. I’ve found it useful to start small when you get started, to form the habit.

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