The Million Dollar Morning Routine: 6 Steps to a Solid Morning Routine | The Mel Robbins Podcast

KEYPOINTS

• 01

  Act like your future self now

  Mel frames the episode around behavioural activation: you become the person you want to be by acting like them in everyday life. Each morning is a clean slate, and she says you should build the routine your future self needs, not the one you currently like.

• 02

  Your first decision is the lead domino

  'How you set your day up is how it ends up.' If the first domino is procrastination and stress, more of the same follows. A good start (meeting a friend at the gym, arriving prepared) gives you energy and pride. Mel goes as far as calling the morning routine the solution to almost all of life's problems.

• 03

  Hitting snooze is procrastinating on your life

  For decades Mel's first decision every day was to hit snooze four or five times while staring at the ceiling thinking about her problems. She sees that habit repeated all day: snoozing on the phone call, the networking, the hard conversation, the gym. Given that some people didn't wake up today, she calls snoozing opting out of the day.

• 04

  A routine is a set of simple promises, not a Navy SEAL regimen

  Mel stresses that routines are boring and repetitive, and that's the point. Keeping small promises to yourself builds discipline, confidence and resilience. For someone with childhood trauma and anxiety, she says, just getting out of bed can be a profound win, and the routine acts as guardrails during grief, depression or anxiety spikes.

• 05

  Rule 1: when the alarm rings, count 5-4-3-2-1 and get up

  You set the alarm the night before, so it's a promise. After 14 years Mel still counts down every morning because she'd always choose the warm bed with bamboo sheets. If you can't rely on yourself to get up, she asks, how will you handle the hard conversation, the résumé or the second act? Lying in bed usually means scrolling, rumination and riding a wave of cortisol.

• 06

  Get up for yourself, not for others

  Most of us have always woken up for someone else: a parent yelling, the school bus, work, kids or ageing parents. Mel points out you'd set an alarm an hour early to drive a loved one to the airport, so do it for yourself.

• 07

  Rule 2: make your bed

  It completes something, so you start the day with a checked box rather than a 'tsunami' you keep seeing all day. Mel does it in hotels and at her parents' homes in Florida and Michigan, because the routine keeps her herself wherever she is. It's also a gift to tonight's you.

• 08

  Rule 3: the high five habit

  Stacked onto brushing your teeth, look yourself in the eye, decide who you'll be today (peaceful, brave, building momentum) and high-five your reflection like a team breaking a huddle. Mel says she covered the science in an earlier episode with her husband Chris.

• 09

  No phone until the routine is done

  Checking texts or email hands your attention and intention to others. Mel asks whether you'd let your few hundred Facebook friends into your bathroom while you brush your teeth with no underwear on, because that's effectively what you're doing. Evenings are unpredictable; the morning is the one time you can reliably put yourself first.

• 10

  Rule 4: move your body and your mind

  Do 10 minutes of brisk walking (walk like you're late) plus at least a minute of mindset practice such as journaling, meditation, prayer or an app. Getting outside early also exposes you to bright light, which resets your circadian rhythm and helps you sleep.