Entrepreneurs thrive on diversity. We have the ability to wear multiple hats and work on multiple interesting problems at the same time. I always believed that we chose this path to avoid the daily routine. At the end of 2014 I heard a podcast episode with Hal ElRod which changed my perspectives. He authored the book called Morning Miracle, which I promptly purchased after the episode. The book is a quick read and goes through 6 steps he recommends. They are; Meditation, Affirmations, Visualizations, Exercise, Reading, Writing. Incorporating all of these into your morning routine is challenging. It took me a couple of months to get into the flow. However once I did, it had a dramatic impact on both my energy levels as well as my work.

The internet is filled with resources about perfecting your morning routine. While these help, the real challenge is the one from within. All of us want to eat, sleep and work better. However when that alarm goes off at 530am, it is tempting to hit the snooze button for 5 more minutes. Every time we hit that button we lose a critical internal battle. If we hit the button enough, the chances of us changing become even slimmer. Two strategies that I would recommend to reducing the chances of pressing the button are:

1. Write down the first thing you want to get done before heading off to bed. Start with just a single item first. Eventually you can start building your entire to-do list for the next day.

2. Setup early morning meetings, conference calls or gym sessions. Optimally you would want to prioritize exercising. Calls and meetings should ideally be scheduled for later in the morning or afternoon. However in the beginning we need a forcing function. Once we get into the habit of getting up early you can switch up the sequence of events.

Why Creating a Meaningful Morning Routine Will Make You More Successful This weeks post was inspired by this great article. It goes into detail about morning routines and the benefits of each step. Would highly recommend reading through this and setting up your own routine.

Nightly Routines and How To Sleep Hack your way to a Productive Morning This is a good follow up on the article above. It goes through night routines in detail. This includes a very helpful section on how to improve your quality of sleep.

16 Startup Metrics Every business has 2 – 3 core metrics that define their business. Determining what those metrics are is critical to ensuring our success. This post provides a great list of metrics to pick from. I would recommend going through all of them and seeing which 2 or 3 are key to your business.

The Advanced Guide to Startup PR Getting publicity for your startup is important. Many founders go about getting press incorrectly. They either hire a PR firm prematurely or do not think through their strategy completely. This post provides a great primer on getting your strategy right from the beginning.

A Dozen Things I’ve Learned from Charlie Munger about Making Rational Decisions This was a strong contender for my top article of the week. The post is full of insights and is a great read. One of my favorite lines from the post is “Checklists are a foundational part of systems that can help people identify dysfunctional thinking and bias.”

The Post-YC Slump YC is the top startup incubator in the world. This post talks about the downward spiral of doing fake work once startups graduate from the program. I believe these lessons are apt for all startups. Doing fake work and appearing to be busy is ensuring a slow and painful death.

How Two Non-Technical Cofounders Grew & Sold Their Startup for Millions These days everyone seems to be looking for a technical cofounder. This story shows that in most cases it isn’t necessary. Being able to get stuff done and execute can easily tip the odds in your favor. The story includes the 5 lessons the founders learned in their process from incorporating to sale.

Wishing everyone a great week ahead!