A Powerful Morning and Evening Routine for Men

Now more than ever, people are looking for some way to gain control over their lives.

It’s easy to get caught up in tips or hacks from various “influencers” or “gurus”.

Some people may even look for the answers in a book and hope that reading it automatically fixes their life.

Instead of focusing on these things as the main part of your life, focus on your habits. And your habits come down to a strong and powerful daily routine for men.

With strong daily routines, you will build the foundation to kick ass and take names no matter who you are or what you do. It will make you feel more masculine.

This article will give you a basic overview of how to create a routine that suites you and your needs and tastes. Think of it as the best daily routine for the modern man, except it’s tailored to you.

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The Morning Routine

The first hour is the rudder of the day. – Henry Ward Beecher

Many people wake up in a reactive mode.

They get woken up by an alarm clock, they then check their phone or scroll social media, maybe watch some news, and then rush to get ready for work. If they have a significant other, they may start the day with an argument of some kind over something very trivial.

That’s not a morning that sets you up for success.

You want something that will powerfully set you up to hit the bullseye on your target. Think of it like an archer shooting an arrow. He pulls it back, taut – then releases.

Consider these things as you set up your own morning routine.

Wake up early.

There’s a reason why most high achievers wake up early.

It allows you more time in the day to get shit done. No one’s up and you have that time all to yourself.

It gives you the chance to respond to the day rather than react.

You get to greet the day on your terms.

In order to wake up early, you should be getting to bed early. You should be in bed and asleep by 11am, minimum.

Workout (at a gym)

Working out early has many benefits.

It not only gives you a powerful start to the day and flushes your body with endorphins and other chemicals making you more focused, alert, and optimistic.

What workouts can you do? You can stretch. You can do yoga. You can lift weights.

The latter one is essential for all men. Strength training boosts your testosterone levels and makes you use whatever testosterone you have more effectively. If you can’t lift or don’t like lifting weights, at least do bodyweight calisthenics. Try out the Jailhouse Strong routine.

Meditate and/or pray.

The early morning is an ideal time to center your mind.

People who are religious use the early morning hours to get closer to God because there’s little distraction or turbulence in the mind.

The health benefits of meditation are already known and you’d be foolish not to develop some type of mindfulness practice.

Meditation apps like Calm have helped millions of people worldwide and provide an easy entry into meditation.

Try it and see for yourself.

Strategize and create plans.

With the clear head that the morning gives you, it’s an ideal time to make plans for your day, week, or even your life.

One tool I use for doing this is the Clear Habit Journal. It’s a bullet journal and long-form journal all in one. I fill it with quick notes, habits I’m tracking, quotes, and plans for each quarter of the year.

I use the morning to reinforce my short-term and long-term plans and to ensure that I’m on mission to achieve my goals.

You may have your own system, but I’d recommend writing things down. When things are down in writing, you’ll remember them and it also makes it more concrete so you have something to refer to.

Start the Stoic Morning.

The wise will start each day with the thought, ‘Fortune gives us nothing which we can really own.’ Nothing, whether public or private, is stable.” – Seneca

The Stoics emphasized the importance a of morning routine to create mental tranquility and equanimity.

The Stoic emperor Marcus Aurelius had his own form of the morning routine, but he used it to mentally prepare himself for events and create a powerful and rock solid mental state via introspection and practicing what are called “contemptuous expressions”.

Aurelius reminded himself that everything was impermanent and that it was a way to strip everything of their glamour no matter how alluring it may ordinarily look.

Meditate on a theme throughout the day.

Take a theme from your morning meditation and make it a central part of your day.

For example, say you were focusing on what it means to be strong. How can you make that a background theme throughout your day?

You may want to turn it into an affirmation. Write it down on a note card and carry it on you throughout your day. Look at it as you go throughout the day.

You might want to record yourself saying certain things in the morning and listen to it throughout the day.

Whatever method you choose, make sure it’s something that can center you and make you feel grounded.

The Evening Routine

Your evening routine is how you wind down in a productive and purposeful way. There’s a specific way to do this bringing a solid close to the day.

Recount the day.

Use your journal and make a mental account of your day.

What went right? What could you do better? What is one area of improvement you want to focus on in the next coming days?

Use it as a type of record to keep you honest and focused on one central organizing theme for your week, month, or quarter.

Tie up loose ends.

You’ll have some objectives from the day that you wanted to finish but you won’t finish them. That’s perfectly fine.

Finish up what you can and then ensure that you can push what’s left over into the next day.

Create your to-do list.

The most important part of your evening routine is to create a to-do list for the following day.

By creating your to-do list for the next day, you already eliminate the guesswork.

There’s a way to organize your to-do list in terms of priority, time management, and effectiveness.

First, write down everything you have to do in a day. Then, organize it by sequence and priority. For example, if you have something that’s important and needs to be completed before the rest get completed, label it “A1”. Then label the next “A2” and so on. “B” or “C” tasks shouldn’t be done before an A task.

You “single handle” every A task before moving onto a “B” or “C” task. This will ensure you squeeze the most productivity out of every single one of your minutes in the day.

Read.

The end of the day is a prime time to catch up on some reading.

It will prevent you from looking at blue light on a phone or computer screen and give you something to focus on until you fall asleep.

Close out with silence.

If you like, close out the day with a quick meditation or mindfulness session, helping you center your mind once again.

Sample Men’s Daily Routine

Here’s a quick rundown of what that day would look like on a normal weekday. Note, I left out the commute because many people work from home and your commute may be variable.

I also leave out working hours because people work different hours or have their own schedule.

5:30AM – Rise
5:35AM – Meditation
5:45AM – Journal/Strategize/Goals
6:15AM – Workout
7:00AM – End Workout
7:20AM – Breakfast
9:00PM – Recount Day/Tie up loose ends/Plan for next day
9:30PM – End of Day Meditation
10:00PM – Read
10:30PM – Bed

I don’t expect you to follow this schedule to the letter, but it gives you a good idea of how this structured day would look like.

Wrapping Up

A solid morning and evening routine helps you to frame your day within a context of productivity.

It should be something that gives you a solid start and a solid end to the day. You do this through a combination of mindset strengthening, physical strengthening, and lifestyle/time management.

Your routines will provide the base for your future success.

Is there anything particular that you do for your morning and evening routine? If so, let us know in the comments.