Sahil Bloom's Morning Routine: 5 Principles to Transform Your Day

Sahil recently dropped a video (scroll to the bottom to watch it), sharing his typical morning and how he attacks. What I love about this breakdown is he didn't just share 5 tips, but guided his morning via some principles.

We all have different constraints in our lives. By focusing on the princples you can adapt these to fit your lifestyle and take on the day.

Principle 1: Set the Conditions for Success

Here’s the deal: success doesn’t just happen in the morning. It starts the night before. Want to wake up like a champion? You’ve got to set the stage for it.

Plan the Night Before

Sahil spends 15 minutes every evening prepping for the next day. Not an hour, not two. Just 15 minutes. His secret? He only picks 2-3 priority tasks to focus on and writes them down on an index card. Why? Because trying to tackle 10 things is a one-way ticket to Procrastination Station. By setting up for just a few key tasks, you’re reducing the friction of starting your day.

Pro tip: Open up your laptop, pull up the research or software you need, and leave it all ready to go. When you wake up, bam—instant productivity mode.

Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment

Caffeine addicts, this one’s for you. Sahil tries to cut off caffeine after noon (yes, tries—no one’s perfect). And if you’re one of those night owls doom-scrolling on your phone until midnight, Sahil’s got advice for you too. He shuts down screens after 5 p.m. or, if needed, switches his phone to grayscale mode to chill out.

Wind-Down Routine

To wind down before bed, Sahil’s routine is a chef’s kiss of relaxation. He:

• Hits the sauna and cold plunge for muscle recovery (because, of course, he runs like crazy)
• Journals with his 1-1-1 method (while sweating it out in the sauna)
  • 1 win from the day
  • 1 stressor
  • 1 thing he’s grateful for

The result? He’s relaxed, clear-headed, and ready for a great night’s sleep. Do you need a fancy sauna? Nope. But some quiet reflection and a routine that signals “bedtime” to your brain is a must.

The cold plunge Sahil uses, Plunge (no affiliate), is quite expensive. There are cheaper brands like the Ice Barrel, but these require loading ice. A tad more friction if you're looking to plunge.

Principle 2: Wake Up Early

Ah, the age-old advice: wake up early. But here’s the thing—Sahil insists it’s a cheat code for life. It’s hard, and that’s the point. Doing hard things consistently builds confidence and sets you apart.

Tips for Consistently Waking Up Early

1. Put your phone in another room. When your alarm goes off, you’ll have to physically get out of bed to turn it off. By then, you’re up. No snooze.
2. Hydrate ASAP. Gulp down 16 ounces of water right after you wake up. Trust me, that little jolt of hydration works wonders.

Sahil’s 5-5-5-30 Method

To really kick-start the day, Sahil jumps into his 5-5-5-30 method.

• 5 push-ups
• 5 squats
• 5 lunges
• 30-second plank

It’s just enough movement to shake off the sleep and get your body going.

Principle 3: Do Something Hard

This one’s all about building resilience. You want to tackle your day like a boss? Do something hard first thing in the morning.

Challenge Yourself Physically and Mentally

Sahil’s choice is his cold plunge—yes, he willingly dips into freezing water every morning. You don’t need to subject yourself to an ice bath (unless that’s your thing). But you should find something challenging that sets the tone for the day. It could be:

• an intense workout
• a meditation session
• a complicated puzzle

The key here is that doing something hard early builds momentum. You’ve already conquered a challenge, so now everything else feels easier.

Principle 4: Focus Deeply

Now comes the meat of the morning routine: deep focus. You’re up early, you’re feeling good after that hard task, and now it’s time to crush your priorities.

Prioritize and Focus on Key Tasks

Remember those 2-3 tasks you set up the night before? Now it’s time to lock in and tackle them. Sahil blocks out 2-3 hours of uninterrupted time to work on his top priorities.

Why mornings? Because no one’s bothering you. No emails, no texts, no distractions. It's just you, your coffee, and your brainpower.

Sahil's a New England guy so of course he gets his Dunkin...

The kind of deep focus you get in the early hours can outperform an entire 8-hour workday. Seriously.

Principle 5: Move

This is the grand finale: movement. We’re talking about a run, a workout, yoga—whatever gets your body moving and blood pumping.

Movement Fuels the Day

Sahil believes that movement has a ripple effect. When you start your day with exercise, it improves everything else: your mood, your focus, your eating habits, and even your sleep.

Sahil’s routine? After knocking out his work, he goes for a run followed by strength training. But the form of exercise doesn’t matter as much as the fact that you’re moving. Get up, get active, and you’ll feel better for the rest of the day.

We've got a wealth of exercise protocols you can check out. These range from general tips regarding exercise to full workout plans.

Bonus Secrets to Success

Secret 1: Make It Yours

Sahil’s morning routine is his routine. You don’t have to copy it exactly. Take the principles and tweak them to fit your life. Maybe your “hard task” is a yoga session instead of a cold plunge. Maybe your deep focus time involves creative writing instead of business tasks. Customize it!

Secret 2: Aim for 90-95% Consistency

Don’t stress about perfection. Life happens, and sometimes you’ll miss a workout or sleep in. Aim for 90-95% consistency and don’t beat yourself up over the occasional miss. The key is that consistent effort will always keep you moving forward.

Recap

Sahil Bloom’s morning routine is no magic formula, but it’s packed with principles that can unlock your potential.

1. Set yourself up the night before

2. Wake up early

3. Do something hard

4. Focus deeply

5. Move your body

Try them out, adapt them to your life, and watch how much more productive, focused, and successful you become.

Sahil's Video