Jeff Sanders – How The 5 AM Miracle Sets You Up For Happiness and Success
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Today we’re talking to Jeff Sanders, author of The 5AM Miracle and host of the 5AM Miracle podcast. Jeff is a 10-time marathon runner, coach and public speaker who helps ambitious professionals dominate their day before breakfast to achieve their grandest goals in life.
Jeff’s journey to 5AM
Jeff explains that, for many years, he was a typical night owl, with an overbooked schedule and stressed out mornings. He was first motivated to start getting up really early to find the time to train for a marathon, and discovered on day one of his new routine that he loved the act of being awake at sunrise and moving his body.
After completing the marathon, Jeff continued his early-rising practice to work on other projects because when he was the only one awake, he could really take advantage of that time to take care of personal and professional goals.
In essence, it felt like a miracle how much he could get done.
5AM Miracle Structure
Because the 5AM Miracle is all about creating the energy to have a productive day, Jeff offers the following guidelines for making the most of it:
Start by building up energy. For Jeff, that means a simple fruit or green smoothie, water, maybe a little caffeine. This gets him mentally and physically alert to start the day.
Exercise as early as possible. Jeff gets out to run as soon as he can, because if he postpones, he’s likely to get distracted with other things he wants to get done and skip exercising altogether.
Identify what parts of your routine are most effective. When you’re traveling or something else throws off your schedule, figure out what elements work best for you and devote your limited time to those things, e.g. five minutes of yoga, reading for 15 minutes, drinking plenty of water. For Jeff, it’s pushups and a cup of coffee.
Beyond the 5 AM Miracle
Jeff stresses that the healthy habits and lifestyle set in place by the 5 AM Miracle lead to a both a happier and more productive life.
To maintain that level of well being and performance, he offers these additional tips:
- Train yourself to go to bed earlier: Jeff sets an 8PM boundary of turning everything off — TV, phone, computer, etc. After 8PM, he reads a book, takes a shower, and goes to sleep.
- In the evening, set your schedule for the next morning: Jeff likes to get to “equilibrium zero” by putting everything away, cleaning the office, bedroom and home so there are fewer things to distract him in the morning.
- Keeps a running list to remind yourself of what you’ve already accomplished: Your past successes keep pushing you forward.
- Have an organizational system in place: Jeff uses the Nozbe digital task manager, which is essentially a calendaring to-do list system. This presents him with the daily challenge of how to get to the things that matter most as quickly as possible.
- Meditate for 10 to 20 minutes a day: This forces you to slow down and stop being productive. Jeff finds this to be very powerful because it clears his thoughts and brings fresh perspective.
- Finally, Jeff offers the this number-one action step: Make a written plan for your morning routine by tonight and then get up tomorrow morning and do it.
