Do you find some people seem to have a natural head start on you? That’s probably because while you’re rolling out of bed and straight into the office, they’ve been up for hours and have already ticked off half of their tasks for the day. Here’s the successful man’s morning routine:

6.00am: He wakes up and makes his bed straight away. An unmade bed sets the tone for a disorganised and unproductive day. If the first thing you do in the morning is unsuccessful, how can anything positive follow? Plus, if you have a bad day, you have a well-made bed to come home to.

Your boss’s bed doesn’t look like this in a morning, so why should yours?

6.05am: He drinks a black coffee. Aside from the obvious extra get up and go it provides, coffee has a whole host of benefits, from aiding digestion and providing antioxidants, to reducing the risk of strokes and protecting the liver.

6.10am: He exercises. The morning is the best time for exercise, because the body is more alert than if it’s just been through a hard day at work - especially after that coffee. Exercising will release feel-good endorphins, so he actually has more energy after his workout.

7.00am: He checks his email. Yes, we know, everybody says checking work emails at home results in us being overworked and stressed, but only if it’s done in the wrong way. As long as it is only a small amount of time allocated to this, checking work emails at home before everyone else wakes up is a great way to get a head start and make sure your queries are dealt with first.

7.30am: He eats breakfast. Not only is a decent breakfast essential to your health, it also gives you a chance to sit down with your family. The successful man knows it’s important to devote time to sitting down with his nearest and dearest.

7.45am: He plans out his day. He knows he has a list of things that need to get done, so he takes a few moments to visualise how his day is going to go. Once this version of reality is in his mind, it’s much easier for him to go through the day as he’s planned.

8.00am: He gets to work early. Getting into the office before most other people naturally gives him the upper hand when it comes to promotion. He’s already risen up the ranks faster than anyone else, and mornings spent chatting to the CEO by the water cooler before anyone else gets in means he’s first in line for that senior management position.