Leadership Strategy & Performance
Why Elite Performers have a Morning Routine
Published Guide updated 2 min 23 sec
When clients asked what world-class performers do in the morning, Sharon points to Tim Ferriss’s Tools of Titans. About eighty per cent of the people he interviewed used some form of meditation, from a mindful walk to sitting still. She pairs that with movement and sleep, because a leader’s highest-value work is a clear decision.
Executive Summary
Key Takeaways
- Most of the performers Ferriss studied meditated in some form.
- Movement and mindfulness are there to clear the mind.
- Sleep is part of the routine, not a separate virtue.
- One honest minute is a valid start.
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Edited Transcript
Sharon asked clients what they wanted to understand, and many of them said the morning routine: what world-class performers do at the start of the day. She points to Tim Ferriss, who had already done that work in Tools of Titans, interviewing performers across athletics, business, science, art, music and sport.
His finding, as she reports it, is that about eighty per cent did some form of meditation in the morning. That might be a mindful walk or swim, journaling, or sitting down to meditate. The pattern she draws from it is physical exercise for the body and some kind of mindfulness for the mind, so the day starts with white space and clearer thinking.
She ties that to the job of a leader. The highest value they bring is a high-quality decision, and that depends on clearing clutter: a proper night’s sleep, then a mindful start and some movement. She invites people to take an hour if they have it, or twenty minutes, or ten, or one. Everyone has a minute. Start there, build the routine, and she says people do not give it up once they feel the difference.
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