My Morning Routine: Coffee, Notebook, and 20 Minutes of Silence

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I get up early. Before the phone starts buzzing, before any notification has a chance to hijack my attention, I’m already moving.

The first thing I do is 15 minutes of standing meditation. Not the cross-legged, incense-burning kind. Just standing, breathing, setting my mind for the day. I got into this through my study of The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, which fundamentally changed how I think about being present. If you haven’t read it, put it on your list.

Then I start stretching. An hour of foam rolling, mobility work, and targeted stretching that prepares my body for the workout ahead. While I stretch, I make a Cafe Latte Shakeology — something in my stomach — and brew a strong dark roast on my Nespresso. The Intenso or the Double Espresso Scuro. (If you want to try Nespresso, use my referral code YBW559 at checkout.)

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The smell of the coffee while I’m stretching is one of my favorite sensory experiences. It signals that the day is mine. Not my employer’s, not my inbox’s — mine.

The 20 Minutes That Changed Everything

After the stretching and before the workout, I sit with the coffee and a notebook. No phone. No screen. Just the coffee and whatever’s on my mind.

Some mornings, I sketch out a financial idea. Some mornings, I plan my golf practice for the week. Some mornings, I write three words and stare out the window. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I have a protected window — a non-negotiable appointment with myself — where no one else gets a vote.

This is the single habit that ties everything else together. When you start the day on your own terms, you carry that energy into everything that follows.

Then Comes the Work

After the notebook, I do my Beachbody workout (Affiliate Link) — whatever program I’m currently in. Right now that’s wrapping up 10 Rounds and transitioning into 21 Day Fix Real Time. On days when the program has a rest day, I do a Tathata Golf training session instead. So I’m working out every single day.

Post-workout: a Tabak Especial Toro Dulce with my Vega Sport Protein shake. Yes, a cigar after a workout. It’s my thing. I earned it. And the contrast — the intensity of the workout followed by the calm of a good cigar — is what earned leisure feels like in practice.

Why I’m Telling You This

Not because my routine is perfect or because you should copy it. But because the structure of the morning determines the quality of the day. Every high-performer I admire — Porter Stansberry, Mark Ford, Craig Ballantyne — has a morning ritual. The specifics differ. The principle doesn’t: own your morning, own your life.

If you’re currently rolling out of bed, checking your phone, and starting the day on someone else’s terms, try one change. Just one. Maybe it’s the coffee without the phone. Maybe it’s ten minutes of stretching. Maybe it’s a notebook.

Start small. Ramp up. That’s the whole philosophy.

The full Morning Ritual System — including the coffee, the movement, and the intention-setting — is System #1 in The Saturday Morning Blueprint.

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— Chad