I have been an early riser all my life.

And I come from a long line of Larks.

When you wake up early (and no one else is awake), you look for things to do. I have tinkered with volumes of morning activities, including "trying" to sleep in.

Here's my current approach to starting a productive work day:

The 5 Spot for a quick start.

Here’s how it works:

• Set your alarm for 5AM the night before.

• At 5AM, get out of bed. No snoozing.

• Chug a cold glass of water.

These simple steps help me knock out grogginess immediately.

5-5-5-30 to get your blood flowing.

All credit to Sahil Bloom for this one.

Here’s how it works:

• 5 pushups

• 5 squats

• 5 lunges

• 30 second plank

These four exercises get blood flowing to my brain and preps me for the next routine.

750 words to put your mind in gear.

Here’s how it works:

• Write 750 words as fast as you can.

• Stream of consciousness.

• No edits.

Do these 3 things, and you'll clear the pipes for the next step.

Note: I use 750words.com to help me with this routine. It's a fantastic resource for friction free writing.

10-10 for 10 to create your best ideas.

Here’s how it works:

• Avoid logging into any device.

• Crack open a moleskine notebook.

• Write 10 ideas— If you need help, use James Altucher's Idea Machine.

• Write 10 questions you have about any topic.

• If you avoid distractions and do this for 10 minutes, you'll unlock a rich source of creativity.

Easy, right?

This entire routine takes me 45 minutes. It pumps me full of energy for the rest of the day.

That’s it!