These morning rituals are the best way to kickstart your day according to 8 brilliant solo business owners

According to the experts, what you do first thing in the morning has the greatest impact on the success of the rest of your day. In our Morning Rituals series, we asked our Flying Solo small business community what rituals they use to kickstart their systems before getting on with work for the day. Read on for some inspiring ideas to start the day right!

Lisa Messenger, founder of Collective Hub

Do you have a night-time routine?

I’m a MASSIVE pen and paper fan; I’m a very visual person. So each night I scribble down some mind maps and to-do lists to get them out of my head. I’ll then transfer any specific tasks from that into Asana for my team.

I’ll also look at my calendar for the following day and work out what I need to wear – my days consist of everything from gym sessions to photo shoots, media events and speaking gigs, so being prepared ahead of time is important.

Share your usual morning routine

I wake up at 3.59 every morning, thanks to my crazily-entrepreneurial boyfriend’s alarm. I then go back to sleep until somewhere between 6.30 and 8am. I’m not really a morning person!

I try to avoid the urge to roll straight over and check our daily dashboards, social media channels, email and news channels … it takes discipline not to! So I try to jump straight in the shower, then go do some yoga, dog walk or meditation (often these things are my meditation). Then I’ll have a green smoothie and an iced latte – I generally won’t eat until after about 10am.

I try not to take any meetings before 10am either, though sometimes it’s unavoidable – particularly if I have an early photo shoot, media interview or speaking gig. But for general meetings, nothing before 10am – that’s pretty much a non-negotiable.

My routine is that I like to write (for others), journal (for me), plan, vision, strategise, educate myself (read, listen to podcasts, research) BEFORE I start reacting to the world. Then after 10am – it’s fair game.

What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?

Definitely exercise. I cannot go past a good sweat sesh or yoga practice. And walking my dog, Benny – dogs have this incredible way of grounding me; he is never unhappy and just exudes joy and excitement all the time. Taking him out is a great leveller.

Describe your ideal morning

Up at 7.30am for a strong yoga session, then a gorgeous coastal walk with Benny whilst listening to one of my favourite podcasts, followed by papers at a local café with a bite to eat. I just love time to recharge in nature and exercise; it’s where all my great thinking comes before I am bombarded with the day.

I often talk about the difference between being ‘busy’ and being productive, and between being reactive vs proactive. It’s really important in my experience to delineate between the two and consciously make time for the ‘productive’ and the ‘proactive’. This is what my mornings are all about – setting up for a great day and not feeling overwhelmed but rather grounded, centred, strong and ready from the get go.

Catherine Cervasio, founder of Aromababy

Do you have a night-time routine?

I keep a journal and write down my to-do list so I can hit the pillow with a clear head and get a good night’s sleep.

Share your usual morning routine

I generally check my phone when I wake up. If there’s anything I’ve missed it’s generally on Wechat overnight (China is a few hours behind us), but if there is nothing urgent, I leave the phone alone until I’m ready to start ‘work’ – whether from home or heading into the office.

I wake up around 7am naturally, and try to see my eldest off for work (you know, shove fruit in his satchel and that kind of thing). If I oversleep, it’s generally from jet lag or sheer exhaustion. We’re like a tag-team in our house, each person is up and then leaves home at a different time, leaving the next person to a little solitude.

I do some basic exercise at home, or walk along the river where I live, several mornings per week. It’s so cathartic; I love it.

Then it’s coffee at my desk (at home) – long black, please. (I’ve been known to fall in love with a man who can make a great coffee!) I try to keep my second caffeine hit until I reach the office or arrive at a meeting; this way I don’t have more than two or three per day.

During my drive to work I generally listen to something positive instead of the radio, which also helps keep me focused and upbeat.

What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?

I have been off the caffeine from time to time, and whilst I really love my coffee, I would give this up in a heartbeat over my gratitude practice.

I spend a couple of minutes ‘giving thanks’ for the little things in my life in the shower each morning. I am an aromatherapist and have essential oils everywhere. I use a drop of oil and warm it in my hands, then close my eyes, inhale and set myself up mentally and emotionally for the day, using positive intentions and gratitude.

Describe your ideal morning

Wake up at 8am, see my boys off (with fruit), then power walk to the local boathouse and have a coffee, taking time to be grateful for my surroundings, before heading to the office to start my day. Both mentally and physically, I’m set when I start the day this way.

Jaemin Frazer, founder of The Insecurity Project

Do you have a night-time routine?

Nope!

Share your usual morning routine

Alarm at 5:45am, then I get dressed, drink a glass of water with lemon juice, and go spend ten minutes on my water tank outside.

What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?

Anthony Robbins’ ten-minute morning ritual on my water tank (one-minute breathing exercise, four minutes of gratitude for the past, five minutes of gratitude for the future).

Describe your ideal morning

• Morning ritual on my water tank
• One hour of content creation in my home office
• Cooking breakfast (three poached eggs on Vegemite sourdough toast with avo, spinach leaves, and beans + a coffee and orange juice)
• Send the kids off to school
• Head to the local coffee shop
• Headphones in, Spotify playlist, great coffee, journal, nice pen, 30 minutes of pure flow
• Check and reply to emails
• Give online coaching feedback to my clients

Kim Storie, Photographer

Do you have a night-time routine?

Not specifically, although I do have a running to-do list so there’s always actionable items on there.

Share your usual morning routine

I naturally wake up with the sun, so in summertime I usually wake up early but in wintertime, I need the alarm! It’s set for 6.30am year-round except for Sunday (or Monday if I’ve had a big weekend of markets or photoshoots). If I have nothing on, that’s a sleep-in day.

The first thing I do is have a shower and then breakfast, which is usually toast and sometimes eggs from my neighbour. Love living next door to someone with chooks!

What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?

Going outside to let my kelpie, Ruby, out of her kennel for the day – she’s always super excited to see me!

Describe your ideal morning

My ideal morning is to wake up naturally when the sun gets up, go let my kelpie out and then go out and check my livestock on the farm. It’s the best feeling going out with your dog and checking on happy, healthy sheep.

If I’ve got a big day in office, it makes a great start to be outside for a while. I don’t currently have any sheep on the farm because of drought conditions, so I’m really missing that!

Charli Tschuck, founder of Pilgrim Packs

Do you have a night-time routine?

Yes, I do. I use my reminder app, calendar and schedule tasks. How quick and complex the task will determine which app I use.

Share your usual morning routine

I have an alarm set for 7am weekdays and 8am weekends, although I usually naturally wake on weekends.

When I wake, I review overnight social media and news, usually in bed with a coffee. I am in the process of training myself to meditate for 15 minutes before either of these things, using the Calm app on my iPhone. Then I shower.

I’m currently fasting until around 11am for health reasons.

What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?

I’m really enjoying the meditation and my shower. I feel refreshed and ready to tackle all challenges.

Describe your ideal morning

• Naturally wake (before the dreaded alarm)
• Meditate
• Coffee
• Shower
• Breakfast
• Socials and news
• Start the well-planned day’s tasks … they actually go to plan and schedule. 😉

Russell McIntosh, Managing Director of Trade Show Training

Do you have a night-time routine?

I write out a to-do list for the following day on scrap paper. This has actual time appointments (e.g. drop kids at school, meeting with accountant), and then tasks that I want to complete.

Share your usual morning routine

My alarm is set for 6.40am. Firstly, I swear in my head, “F&*@!! It can’t be that time already” – seriously. Then I usually do a quick reflection on my sleep, to review whether I had a good or bad night. If it was a good night with no child interruptions, I get stressed that they have been kidnapped or aren’t breathing. If it is a bad night, I curse my children under my breath and look up the policy for selling children on eBay.

Then, it’s an instant coffee in the kitchen whilst preparing the kids’ lunches. I try to get my shower out of the way before the kids wake up so I am completely theirs for the lead up to school. Some mornings, the alarm gets completely ignored and we get out of bed at 7.30am and everyone and everything is running late.

We blame the kids and then feel guilty and admit to being bad parents!

What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?

Dropping the kids at school. I have a feeling that I have done something good for the family and it is also my release to then get started with my work. It acts as a kind of cleanse, and I feel free.

I usually put on some ’80s love ballad in the car and sing it very loudly, convincing myself that I will be the next mature-age star on The Voice, with the judges saying, “Where have you been? We are awarding you the competition and prize money on the spot!” … only to then have the song interrupted by a telemarketer selling me a cost-effective solar package with a once-only discount especially set up for bald people in my street.

Describe your ideal morning

Be woken by the kids (after 7am), wrestle with them, and breakfast at home whilst doing the crossword with my wife. Simple, but stressless.

And yes, the kids are in front of the TV watching something ludicrously un-educational, but we just got 8 across and it sets us up for 9, 11 and 14 down and we are on fire!

Heather Millar, founder of Zest Communications

Do you have a night-time routine?

I organise my diary at the end of the workday so I know what I need to get straight onto the next day. This helps me to get straight into things the next day, rather than pfaffing around and avoiding getting started.

Share your usual morning routine

I wake at 6am-ish, generally – no need for an alarm. I put my ugg boots on and I make coffee which is enjoyed at my computer, checking emails. I also pat the dogs somewhere in the middle of that mix. Then it’s into a yoga routine.

Describe your ideal morning

That would be Sunday morning and going out for breakfast. I may or may not work once I get home (okay, I usually do), but going out to my favourite café with my husband for coffee and eggs is my ideal morning routine.

Sherene Strahan, Writer and writing coach

Do you have a night-time routine?

Being well-rested and staying alert to my triggers is my only night-before preparation.

Alcohol, too much sugar, or brain stimulation – like being out past 7pm or watching violent TV – trigger my squirrel brain to store up everything I could worry about and trot them out right before I fall asleep. Not nice – which is why I avoid my triggers on a work night.

Share your usual morning routine

I love mornings. I am a true early bird who thrives when I get to see the day dawn. I don’t set an alarm because if I’m well-rested, I know when it’s time to rise and shine.

So, I’m up before dawn, grabbing a glass of water, then doing the downward dog and a few other stretches that make me feel really good. The real dog, Shep, often joins me in the downward dog too. Then I meditate, using the Calm app – usually only for ten minutes or so, but it’s enough time to get my mind in order and help me stop my old habit of being reactive instead of proactive in life and work.

Then Shep’s happy – it’s time for a walk or run. I started running using another app, Couch to 5K. The biggest bonus? Changing the way I see myself – I’ve gone from hating running to being a ‘running non-runner’. I even managed to do a 12km run/walk in a recent fun run. So, running is part of our morning routine three times a week.

Describe your ideal morning

My ideal morning is the same routine but it’s in summer, when dawn hits around 5.30am. I’m up at 4.30am so I can fit in everything I just mentioned, and then head out to the horse for a ride. There’s no other place I’d rather be than walking down to the paddock to Jess, hearing the birdsong and the horses whinnying gently.

I’m on the road as dawn breaks, with those gorgeous streaks of pink and blue across the Perth hills.

Now that’s a good way to start my working day.

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Huge thanks to these wonderful small business leaders for taking the time to share their morning routines with us!

If you’re a Flying Solo Business Class member, get in touch with us to have a Soloist Spotlight feature article created about you and your business, or to chat about setting up an interview with our editor, Cec Busby, for the Flying Solo podcast!

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