10 Daily Habits That Changed My Life
By: Tyler Pruitt
Tags: Self Improvement, Productivity, Habit Building, Entrepreneurship, Morning Routines

Over the years, I’ve read countless books on self help, productivity hacking, leadership, etc., and I’ve found that the majority of thought leaders that I look up to follow the same basic principles of balance in work and in life.

I decided to take my own by keeping a journal of what works and what doesn’t for my current lifestyle. Now, I have a rulebook that I follow on most days, which keeps me on track to attain the level of consistency required to reach my goals.

Work ethic + consistency is a dangerous formula for unbelievable output.

1. Wake up at 7

I know. I know. Entrepreneurs are supposed to wake up at 5am, but here’s the deal. Most of my friends stay up late, and I want to have some sort of social life, so I stay up later than most workaholics. This doesn’t mean that the goal isn’t to eventually wake up at 5am, but that’s just my current schedule and it’s working incredibly well.

By waking up by 7, I have 2 hours to do what I need to do before the rest of the world starts working. Another thing to take into consideration, is that I’m on EST time zone, which means I have 3 hours of work I can do before the west coast has even had their coffee.

2. Meditate for 10 minutes

Most days, I wake up and I immidately feel like I have to fight the world. I glance at my phone and I have missed calls, texts, twitter + instagram notifications, and a million emails.

“When you wake up in the morning and look at emails, you’re going to be consumed by everyone else’s emails of people asking you what they need to be done. I don’t look at Instagram because everyone there is skinnier and sexier and richer than me. So if I wake up in the morning, looking at everyone’s problems from an email, and then also thinking about how everyone is living a great life, then I walk out of the room depressed.” — Daymond John

Instead, I tried meditation. Taking a simple 10 minutes to meditate using Headspace has changed the game. I feel present, and centered fully on what matters most at that time.

Someone once told me, “You can’t take care of everyone else’s problems if you can’t take care of yourself.” Making yourself a priority first allows you to focus on clearing your mind, reminding you to be filled with gratitude, and setting yourself up for success.

3. Make your bed

Just watch this:

4. Brew some coffee

Coffee has all sorts of benefits, but for me, the greatest of all (besides incredible amounts of caffeine) is a reminder of the process.

Everyday I:

Heat the water to 205 degrees

Grind a fresh, light Ethiopian coffee for a pour over

brew in a Kalita wave to produce a 16:1 ratio perfectly brewed cup of coffee.

This process takes a minimum of 15 minutes, but is a friendly reminder to slow down and take the proper time to do things the right way. By embracing the process, I’m allowed to make coffee at my house that people pay $5 at a third wave shop for, all because I was patient enough to brew it correctly and passionately.

5. Read + Reflect

“If you leave your growth to randomness, you’ll always live in the land of mediocrity “ -BrendonBurchard

I try to read something every morning. Whether it’s a book, the Bible, medium, or an article from my favorite blogger. by making it a priority to read, you are entering into a lifetime supply of knowlege that a person has taken the time to document for you. You can’t miss every failure life will bring, but you can avoid a lot of them, while knowing how to react when adversity does come your way by learning from the pathfinders that came before you.

Reflecting by journaling is still something I’m getting better at, but every time I actually write down what I am learning, it never ceases to amaze me how much I retain for the things I am learning. It’s also incredible returning to that journal later as a barometer of my growth.

6. Exercise

Exercise changes the game. Just read this:

7. Check email once a day

It takes a minimum of 15 minutes to really focus on a subject after task switching. So, to avoid the waste of time, I only check my email once a day. This allows me to stay focused on the task at hand.

8. Stay Sorted

After I check my email, I ALWAYS go through and make my schedule. This way I don’t miss anything. I use an app called Sorted that is the combination of a to-do list as well as a calendar.

9. Be present

Life comes at you fast, but don’t let it get the best of you.

Everyday we have to make the constant choice to be present and honor the beautiful moments that life presents us with. Life is short. Don’t take this moment for granted.

10. In bed by 10

It takes about an hour for my mind to truly unwind, so I try to go to bed at 10, that way I actually fall asleep by 11. This allows me to get a full 8 hours of sleep.

In that time I usually read, play tetris on my phone, listen to a podcast, or practice some Spanish (learning before bed has been proven to improve retention). I try to do anything that’s chill enough for me to trigger my brain think that it’s time for bed.

Everyone is different, so I know that my habits may not be as beneficial for you, but I hope this helps. I know that by taking the time to practice these habits daily, I have seen tremendous impact on my energy, consistency, and work-life balance.