Nick Bare's 3 Tips for a Better Morning Routine

Optimize your morning routine with three simple actions.

Nick Bare is the Founder of Bare Performance Nutrition. Over the past decade, he has committed to growing his business, documenting his pursuit of physical goals, and building a family.

Needless to say, Nick is a busy guy – but chances are, you're busy too! And let's be honest, we can all benefit from being more efficient with our time. There are endless priorities to balance and the responsibilities keep stacking up. Your free time is shrinking, and you need a plan to save it.

Recently, Nick sat down with Lewis Howes on The School of Greatness podcast to share three actions he takes every day and what he does to gain the upper hand in a busy world. Apply these three practices consistently and see the impact on your quality of work and life.

TIP #1: WAKE-UP EARLY

What do you do when the alarm sounds? Do you jump out of bed or bury yourself deeper into your sheets – another victim to the snooze button?

This 'seemingly' insignificant decision is crucial for the success of your day. It's the first in a line of many choices that you will make, setting the tone for what's to come. For many people, the morning hours are the short amount of time they get to themselves.

Nick wakes up at 5 AM daily. Why so early? Backward planning. He learned this concept in the military and has since applied it with consistency to his business and personal responsibilities.

Take a day in your life: If you need to be at work at 8 AM, create a list of anything you want to get done before that time, then plan backward to establish how long you need for each task. What actions will set you up for a productive day?

An early wake-up time has been a game-changing practice in Nick's life. The world is asleep, and there are no distractions. It's a time where you have complete control. Will you use it?

TIP #2: MOVE YOUR BODY

Even if you love working out, we all know the inconvenience of finding the time to train when things get busy.

Waking up early is great, but only if you maximize the time. From Nick's time in the military as an Infantry Platoon Leader to his present-day life as a father and entrepreneur, he has always believed that to live a productive life; you must lead with disciplined action – a key reason he trains early in the morning each day.

By prioritizing the early morning hours to move his body, Nick gains the benefit of natural energy, better focus, and an enhanced mood to kickstart his productivity.

Many high-level performers understand the uncertainty of their hours. Once the day begins, you can't be sure when it will end. Nick refers to the chaos as 'putting out fires.' You can't walk away once the fire starts, so you better take care of your other priorities early in the day.

Small decisions can be transformational. Early mornings are a time free of distraction and disruption. Use it to set the tone for your day and be more prepared for whatever challenges come your way.

TIP #3: SEARCH FOR SOLITUDE

It may go without saying, but life can be overwhelming. We all experience stress and struggle to properly manage these emotions without first blowing up on those we love. However, as Nick has discovered, there is a remedy to these feelings.

Solitude allows you the time needed to navigate personal issues and gain clarity on your life and the problems you may be experiencing. It is a crucial component to productivity, self-awareness, and stress-management, yet many people ignore solitude in favor of distraction.

Nick uses solitude to his advantage, daily. While these moments can be fleeting, the early morning hours afford him the opportunity to embrace quiet moments before life gets hectic. Running has been a reliable source of solitude for Nick. The world is still, and the sun hasn’t risen yet when he steps off each morning.

No music. No social media. Just his breath and thoughts, unfiltered and authentic to the life he’s experiencing at that moment.

Solitude is available to everyone, but there’s one caveat: you must search for it – it will never present itself. We go about our lives in a reactive state. From meeting to meeting, obligation to obligation. It feels as though we’ll never wipe our to-do lists clean... because we won’t.

It’s not a matter of checking the boxes; it’s about the intentionality behind everything we do. Solitude is the most dependable source in finding peace of mind and clarity for life’s unavoidable stressors.

Nick has learned and applied many strategies to his professional and personal life. Still, none have been as impactful as the three practices he commits to each morning: an early start, daily movement, and the life-changing benefits of solitude.

If there ever were a secret to success, this routine would be it.

nick bare's morning supplement stack:

One final addition to Nick's morning routine: The daily supplement stack. Nick takes the following every day to optimize his health.

Strong Greens and Strong Reds are nutrient powerhouse powders that mix perfectly in water and taste delicious. Since creating these two products, Nick has taken them, without fail, every day. They support improved natural energy, digestion, and a healthy immune system, so you can remain healthy to move through your day as strongly as possible.

Nick knows that dehydration can take a toll on his productivity. He leads with one to two scoops of BPN Electrolytes each morning to replenish after his training session.

Using these staple products each morning ensures that Nick leaves nothing on the table. He knows that by remaining disciplined in his routine, he will maximize his life – no matter how busy it becomes.