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My morning routine is pretty easy to explain.

I get up, make my bed, and do 100 push-ups. Then I get some coffee and write my blog.

That’s basically it, to a T.

The push-ups are non-negotiable. I’ve been doing them every day for over ten years. At this point, I don’t wake up and have a conversation with myself about whether I feel like doing them. They’re part of getting up.

Some mornings I feel great. Other mornings, I’d rather stay in bed. The push-ups still need to get done.

Making the bed comes first, though. I almost left that out when I started writing about this routine because I do it without really thinking about it. Get out of bed, make it, move on. It’s a small thing, but I like having it handled.

Then it’s time for coffee and the blog.

Writing has become a part of my morning that I look forward to. A prompt comes up, and I start thinking about how it fits into my own life. Sometimes the answer comes right away. Other times, I have to sit with it for a minute.

Today’s was easy. You want to know my morning routine? Well, here it is.

What I like about writing is that it makes me slow down long enough to put a thought into words. I’ve got plenty going on, plenty to figure out, and plenty I want to accomplish. But over that coffee, I get to work through one thing and share it.

The push-ups have been around a lot longer than the blog, but both have become things I keep showing up for. One day at a time, you build a habit. Eventually, it becomes part of your life.

I still have days that go sideways. Making my bed and doing push-ups doesn’t mean every phone call goes my way or every problem disappears. But whatever happens later, I’ve already kept that commitment to myself.

And I think there’s something to that.

You can spend a lot of time waiting to feel ready. With the push-ups, I’ve already decided. I just need to get down and do them.

So that’s my morning. Make the bed. One hundred push-ups. Get some coffee. Write the blog.

Then get on with the day.

— Nicholas Francis