The Athlete’s 15-Minute Night Routine to Maximize Performance in Your Mornings

Here’s what some athletes do to maximize performance in their mornings.

Photo by Mpho Mojapelo on Unsplash

As an athlete, I have always adhered to discipline and regimen in everything. This helped me a lot in my daily life and kept me from feeling lost the next day.

However, as soon as my sports career ended and I transitioned to a more sedentary lifestyle, I began to notice a breakdown in my routine, confusion, lack of sleep, and even trouble remembering things.

These issues started to bring discomfort into my daily life, so I started working again on my night routine. As soon as I started remembering and applying all the old habits in my sports life, I began to notice progress in how I felt the next day.

It only took me 2 weeks to get into my old habits.
This routine takes me 15 to 20 minutes a day.
The results are forever (with consistency)

Elite athletes like LeBron James, Usain Bolt, and Roger Federer sleep around 8 to 10 hours to optimize their recovery, but there are other things athletes do — at least in early stages — to maximize performance in their mornings.

Here are some things that helped me for 12 years as an athlete.

Summarize the current day

This is an opportunity to acknowledge your accomplishments and become aware of what needs to be done and what still needs to be completed. Analyze what didn’t work, and pay attention to those areas of life where it is worth changing tactics or shifting focus to something else.

Make a meal plan

Write down in your notes what you plan to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I can’t tell how much time it saves later in the morning! Also, you won’t be anxious throughout the day thinking about what to prepare.

You can write it down on a piece of paper or use your phone notes as I do.