I am a mouth-taping, ice-bathing, early-waking, affirmation-speaking, carnivore-eating, intermittent fasting, box-breathing, BUJO-keeping, 50-pound-rucking, dead-lifting, sauna-loving, son-of-a-gun.

On the flip side, there’s an overload of fads circulating men’s culture these days. I realize that if we tried every protocol that Joe Rogan, Andrew Huberman, Jocko Willink, and David Goggins rave about, we’d have zero time left in the very lives we were trying to improve upon.

Today, I wanted to get back to some simple, foundational practices that every man should adopt as their non-negotiable daily habits for a productive and healthy life. 

Wake up early

If you are anything like me, this can be difficult. Some of us truly aren’t natural “morning people.” I’m going to tell you what I tell myself…suck it up buttercup, adapt. Waking up between 4 and 5 am gives you an incredibly productive, uninterrupted, head start on your day. It is the antidote for the common complaint of not having “enough time.” If you are not a morning person, this time can be even more beneficial for you—as you get the bonus of exercising self-discipline and pushing through some suffering to kick the day off like a champion.

Make your bed

In his best-selling book “Make Your Bed”, Admiral William McRaven points out that making your bed first thing in the morning is a discipline that begins each day with a small task completed. This will set the tone for your day, and after accomplishing many tasks, you will return in the evening to enjoy the neatly made bed you made for yourself.

Memorize Scripture

God’s Word is living, powerful, and sharper than a two-edged sword. It will feed you, strengthen you, and arm you for battle in the spiritual war that is your daily life. God promised Joshua that His Word would be a map to success: “…meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” In Psalms, memorizing scripture is a tool to overcome sin: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” When you memorize scripture, the Word (which is Christ, Himself) becomes flesh (manifests in your physical body)—finding expression in your day-to-day life.

Prayer

Another important daily habit is prayer—talking to God and listening to God. You can’t have a relationship with God without relating to Him. Many people think God isn’t listening, but here is what the Bible says: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” (1 John 5:14-15)

Journalling

There are a million ways to journal, but there is no right or wrong way. Some common things to include are gratitude-oriented statements that foster a positive and thankful mindset, capturing memories from your day to read later in life, as a way of expressing thoughts and emotions so things don’t pile up and bog you down, to reflect on situations or relationships, to problem solve or capture creative ideas. 

I found that keeping a consistent journal was a challenge, so I began a more practical habit of writing 1-3 short sentences in my journal each day. Having the goal be a minimal time commitment set me up for success, and I rarely miss a day. 

Exercise

There is no debating the science. Our bodies, minds, and emotions require physical exercise for optimal performance. It feels silly to even try to explain the benefits of exercise because you already know this…but most of you just aren’t doing it. A thirty-minute walk turns your sleepy brain into a hotbed of creativity. Calisthenics can be done anywhere with no equipment and can get your body shredded. Weight training makes you feel great, increases testosterone, builds muscle mass and bone density, helps you sleep better, and builds confidence….why am I doing this? You know this already. Get to work, bro.

Diet

Ok, I can’t even do this…we already wasted each other’s time on the exercise thing, I’m not going to explain to you why you should eat right. I will say this though, a lot of guys are eating foods that are destroying their testosterone levels. I encourage you to do your own research on seed oils, vegetable oils, microplastics, soy, artificial sweeteners, fluoride, and pesticides. Scary stuff. Eat real foods.

Goals & Planning

I think it was Zig Ziglar who said “If you aim for nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” Great men never settle for the status quo. They never stop improving, building, learning, and leading. This requires written short and long-term goals, and those goals require a realistic plan of attack. 

Reading

There is an old saying that says “Not all men who read are great, but all great men read.” Daily reading is a requirement for continued growth and development. It makes you smarter…like it actually changes your brain, it makes you far more interesting to talk to, it helps you grow your curiosity, your vocabulary, your understanding of the world and how it works, your understanding of yourself, and fights off cognitive diseases when you get older. As a general rule, if you are bored with a book after the first chapter, shelf it and find another one that captures your attention and imagination.

Friendships

There has been some trendy language on social media lately around the idea of “becoming a ghost”, “disappearing for a year”, and other slogans that promote the idea of men isolating themselves to become more successful. While there may be merit to doing responsible things while your friends are at the bar, the idea of becoming a “ghost” is a fundamentally flawed concept. As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens another. It is in our DNA to need loving relationships. Wives, family, and friends are the most important resources in any man’s life. Invest in them.