I have a story from a few months ago.

I was driving myself crazy. Honestly, I thought my brain was going to explode.

It sounds weird to say, because on the outside everything looked fine.

I was helping clients, writing articles for major publications, and released The Power Primer Workout, which was killer.

But  something felt “off.”

I always felt exhausted and consumed by the endless amount of information at my fingertips. There was always another way to improve, always more that I could be doing.  

Anxiety was growing.

I was distraught. My heart raced, my mind sprang in 1,000,000 different directions, and I was always frantic.

I couldn’t relax– I always had to be reading and consuming information. Still, I was paralyzed. Despite knowing what to do, I couldn’t take action.

Then it hit me.

My chest got tight. My hands quivered. And I  wanted to do nothing.

I was learning, but I wasn’t doing.

I was completely exhausted and overwhelmed. I sat there for 10 minutes. Then 30. Then an hour in a mental  fog.

What the hell was wrong?

A day or two went by until I really honed in on what was going on.

I was completely focused on gathering information and “thinking about what to do” rather than taking high-quality action.

And my workouts I was scattered, checking emails instead of being present on my reps.

And checking my phone during dinner with my wife. #Fail.

It was like I was staring in the mirror and someone else was looking back.

Maybe you’ve had the same experience. I know a lot of my clients have.

We read.

Watch.

Study, and “know” all the right things to do. But we can’t take action.

We want so desperately to go from “chubby to ripped or poor to rich” that we focus only on the end goal and getting shit done.

We look from A to Z, and completely forget about B-Y.

The same thing happens with my personal training business and fitness coaching clients.

Information overload.

We get consumed with all the options available and freeze when the lights come on. It’s analysis paralysis because we have too many decisions to make.

Decision fatigue is the enemy of motivation.

It zaps us.

And no motivation means no discipline or ability to take action, despite how much we know. Action without knowledge reckless. But knowledge without action is laziness.

That’s why after hearing it hundreds of times, I made it my mission to stick to a morning routine– a set of habits to eliminate decisions in my day. Since then, I’ve grown my business, got in the best shape of my life, and quite frankly, started enjoying life for the moment rather than watching from the sidelines.

Here’s my morning routine. I think you’ll benefit for something similar.

Set out my clothes for the next day, despite my wife laughing at me :).

Make my breakfast and put it in the fridge. Here’s the recipe:

• 2 scoops Isopure protein
• 1 scoop EGN from Onnit
• 1 Cup frozen fruit
• 1 tbs Coconut Oil

Set whatever book I’m reading on my desk.

In turn, I wake up, throw on my clothes, have breakfast, and get my reading done.

Since I’ve stuck to this, I’ve had better workouts.

More energy.

A better business.

And more fun.

The less I have to think about on menial tasks (like which shorts I’m going to wear to the gym), the more brain power I have for helping my clients.  It’s the same reason Obama only wears gray or blue suits. In his words, “ I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.”

Set a Morning Routine

Start the day off with minimal decisions– have your clothes picked out, a breakfast shake ready to roll, and your plan of action already decided from the night before.

Cut decisions and you’ll elimination fatigue. With a fresh mindset you’ll focus on what’s important and get high quality work done.

Save it for what’s important and automate your mornings.

I promise, this will make a huge impact on your life.

-Eric