Make Every Day a Good Day With This Morning Routine #TBT

Today's post was originally published last year:

This post is from The Art of Manliness. I did a similar post a couple of weeks ago, also based on AoM.

From the article:

The tactics we’ll be describing aren’t for generating just any kind of good days, but good work days (even if your work is being a stay-at-home dad or other non-traditional job). In this particular context, a good day is one in which you felt productive and energetic, and like you moved in a direction toward your larger goals.

Why Changing Your Morning Changes the Course of Your Whole Day

Because of confirmation bias, your brain will take your morning experience and look for ways to confirm that experience — either good or bad — for the rest of the day. It can seem a bit dispiriting. Starting your day with a bad commute? Your brain wants to spoil the rest of the day. That spilled coffee on your shirt first thing? Your brain wants to tell you that your clients won’t take you seriously and the whole meeting will be shot.

The other side of confirmation bias is incredibly positive though. Have a good morning, and your brain will not only look past those seemingly negative experiences, but search for ways to confirm this positive a.m. vibe throughout the rest of the day.

How can we set ourselves up for a positive confirmation bias?

The How to Have Good Day Morning Routine

When I first delved into this topic, I was worried that the number of practices tied in to setting yourself up for a good day would be burdensome. Would I need to spend an hour just prepping myself for success? But after practicing and timing this process for a few weeks, I can happily report that the whole routine takes under 10 minutes. You can work through it either before you leave the house each day, or as the first thing you do when you sit down at your desk at work. (If you have a gnarly commute and find your mind starts going downhill before you even arrive at the office, I’d strongly consider making it the former!)

1. Set Your “Rule of 3” 
2. Set Your Intentions 
3. Plan for fires. Make contingency plans. Ask, “What could get in my way today?” 
4. Do something physical, if you have time.
5. Set a reward for the end of the day

Interesting days

Today - Punch Day and Pepperoni Pizza Day

Tomorrow - World Gratitude Day, Pecan Cookie Day, Miniature Golf Day, International Day of Peace, International Grenache Day, Concussion Awareness Day, Tradesmen Day and World Alzheimer’s Day

Next Thursday - Morning Show Hosts Day, Tourism Day, Crush a Can Day, Ancestor Appreciation Day and Corned Beef Hash Day

October 20 - Community Media Day, Office Chocolate Day, International Chef Day, I Love Yarn Day, Bridge Day, Sweetest Day, Information Overload Day,  International Sloth Day, Waiters Day, Brandied Fruit Day and Suspender's Day