Waking up has always been a challenge for me.
Often, when my eyes open I feel a sense of dread and sadness.
Over the last couple months my morning routine hasn’t been helping.
It’s been a 3-part sequence:
- Reluctantly get out of bed at like 10 am
- Make and drink my coffee (to get some sunlight I might take a walk, but usually I’ll just stand in my shared terrace and stare at the sky for a moment)
- Frenetically begin writing whatever article has been assigned to me (this week I’m covering CRM software for nonprofits — it’s not philosophy or literature, but it pays the bills)
My rationale for such a barebones routine was that I wanted to get to work ASAP so I could begin my freelance writing work when my willpower was at its strongest and finish the assignment as early as possible.
Overall, this method has been a failure.
Why Getting Right to Work Doesn’t Work for me
If it had been creative writing projects, it may have felt different.
But beginning the day working to earn money without any space or time between your eye’s opening and the keyboard glowing in your face poses three big issues, for me at least:
- Getting out of bed is harder, especially if today’s work is boring or difficult. Some days I’d just end up looking at my phone in bed for 20 minutes, putting off the inevitable.
- When you start your day in a work mindset, you carry that frenzied state through the rest of the day, making it difficult to relax, dream, or play.
- The spiritually and intellectually healthy things I used to do in my morning routine are neglected, because despite planning to do them at night I’m often too tired to.
Over the last week I’ve made a small adjustment to my morning routine.
Studying with the Masters for 30 Minutes Every Morning
Now, instead of getting right to work, I take 30 minutes to read some sort of Wisdom text.
It’s sort of like a devotional reading practice, but not confined to one wisdom tradition or book.
What’s a wisdom text?
I define them as any work that offers either deep, nuanced life advice or a thoughtful perspective on how to live a good, happy, and meaningful life.
Today, for example, I read Emerson’s The American Scholar. And in just thirty minutes I had a completely new understanding of the duties of the autodidact.
With this simple change, I’ve noticed that I feel calmer throughout the day, more contemplative, and I get out of bed excited, since the first big task is for fun rather than for money.
Also, I’ve found that my daily reading hours rise if I do a morning read, and not just because I packed 30 extra minutes into the morning. I’m just more excited to read later on, as if I’ve primed myself to want to explore the realms of knowledge.
It’s like when you eat bacon and crave more of it. You remember how damn good it is.
My Wisdom Reading List
My Wisdom Reading List is made up of classic and contemporary books, poetry collections, essay anthologies, philosophical treatises, and religious texts from several of the great wisdom traditions and movements in history, including Buddhism, Western moral philosophy, Judaism, Christianity, Stoicism, Taoism, Existentialism, and Transcendentalism.
I like to think of myself like a studious Emerson on a mission to explore all the wisdom traditions comparatively to find the existential truths of existence.
I also threw in some autobiographies by great thinkers like Frederick Douglass and Thoreau because why not? It’s my list after all.
Titles range from Fear and Trembling and Letters From a Stoic to The Bible, Tao Te Ching, and a firsthand account of a year as a Buddhist monk.
Despite preferencing classics, the only real qualification to make it on the list is that it should somehow guide me towards becoming a better, happier, and more effective person.
I encourage you to amass your own Wisdom Reading List that’s based on your tastes and goals.
You can use mine as guidance.
Tips for Implementing a Wisdom Reading Practice
On your list, consider including great literature — novels, plays, poems, and essays can be goldmines for insight into yourself and human nature. The only reason I didn’t include any is because I already study classic literature every night.
I also recommend grabbing a journal to write your reflections in, as well as to capture exceptional quotes you come across.
Consider it your Wisdom Commonplace Book.
Further, go slowly as you read. This is a reading project where time under tension is key. You want to really chew on what the author is saying and try to connect it to your own life.
The cool thing about doing this in the morning is that the writer’s ideas will stick with you throughout the rest of the day.
For example during my lunch break and 2 PM walk, my mind took me back to Emerson’s ideas.
Closing Thoughts
My routine is still simple. But just this addition has made a huge difference to my mental health, and I suspect the gains to my self-education will be profound if I keep it up.
Perhaps, one day, I’ll even be wise.
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