Every morning, the first thing I do is meditate for twenty minutes. This comes before exercise, work, and typically, any interruptions.
Except, it’s not exactly the very first thing that I do. Technically I open my eyes, stretch out my body, crack my neck, perhaps hit the snooze bar once or twice, put on exercise clothes if I did not intentionally go to sleep in them the night before (excellent motivation tip!), arrange things that are out of place such as: my sleep mask, sleep tape, glasses, & book; go to the bathroom, brush my teeth, floss, put in my contact lenses, wash my face …
… and all of that doesn’t even include any of the thoughts which may occur in between the time I get out of bed, and the time I actually sit down on the couch to meditate.
On top of that, what if I look at my phone before sitting to meditate? Perhaps glance ‘just at the number’ of emails in my inbox and checking to make sure that ‘no fires are burning’.
Even though I meditate early, there’s a lot going on in between waking up and your ‘first thing’.
Matt Fried 