As investor Michael Batnick says, “some lessons have to be experienced before they can be understood.” We are all victims, in different ways, to that truth.

Some lessons have to be experienced

Doing well with money isn’t necessarily about what you know. It’s about how you behave. And behavior is hard to teach, even to really smart people. Money—investing, personal finance, and business decisions—is typically taught as a math-based field, where data and formulas tell us exactly what to do. But in the real world people don’t make financial decisions on a spreadsheet. They make them at the dinner table, or in a meeting room, where personal history, your own unique view of the world, ego, pride, marketing, and odd incentives are scrambled together. In The Psychology of Money, award-winning author Morgan Housel shares 19 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money and teaches you how to make better sense of one of life’s most important topics.

The Psychology of Money

The best morning habits require self-motivation. They are long-term rewarding activities, instead of habits that deliver immediate payoffs.

The Best Morning Habits

Find a way of tracking your daily activities. A week of tracking would suffice. It is impossible to streamline our mornings without getting to know what we currently spend them on, and why.

First, know where you‘re at

Before we start moving things around, it is helpful to find out your definition of the perfect morning.

Picture the perfect morning

<ul><li>After deciding on the important details you need to integrate into your morning schedule, you are left with making it happen.</li><li>Don't go through the logistic and piling up excuses, instead dwell on how could you fast track the process.</li><li>For some, adjusting their bedtime could do the trick, while others would need to factor in their responsibilities as parents.</li><li>The point is, always focus on ways to make your morning rituals easier.</li></ul>

Make it happen

Build the habit! it is easier when we adopt one habit at a time. Also, we should track our progress, as it takes a while before these activities become part and parcel of our mornings.

One step at a time

Incentives are ways, by which we can motivate ourselves to stay on track. You can promise yourself a treat whenever you reach a milestone.

Reward yourself

The key here is not how much you get done in the morning, but the impact of each task you subject your mind to.

Quality over quantity

Mornings are a madcap time for many of us. We wake up in a haze—often after hitting snooze a few times. Then we rush around to get ready and out the door so we can officially start the day. Before we know it, hours have slipped by without us accomplishing anything beyond downing a cup of coffee, dashing off a few emails, and dishing with our coworkers around the water cooler. By the time the workday wraps up, we’re so exhausted and defeated that any motivation to accomplish something in the evening has vanished. But according to time management expert Laura Vanderkam, mornings hold the key to taking control of our schedules. If we use them wisely, we can build habits that will allow us to lead happier, more productive lives. Drawing on real-life anecdotes and scientific research that shows why the early hours of the day are so important, Vanderkam reveals how successful people use mornings to help them accomplish things that are often impossible to take care of later in the day. While many of us are still in bed, these folks are scoring daily victories to improve their health, careers, and personal lives without sacrificing their sanity. For instance, former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund would rise at 5:00 a.m., run four miles, pray, and eat breakfast with his family before heading to work to run a Fortune 500 company. What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is a fun, practical guide that will inspire you to rethink your morning routine and jump-start your life before the day has even begun.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Alisha Mazaya
@alishamaza

The Psychology of Money

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Alisha Mazaya@alishamaza

The Psychology of Money

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Alisha Mazaya
@alishamaza