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Morning rituals matter more than you think

Around 6am on May 17, 2024, World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler was handcuffed and placed under arrest by Louisville Police after trying to drive into the entrance of Valhalla Golf Club1. Traffic outside the golf course had been stopped after a man was struck and killed by a shuttle bus earlier that morning.

Ninety minutes later, he was booked into the Louisville Metro jail on multiple charges including second-degree assault of a police officer — a felony. Just two hours earlier, he’d left his hotel expecting a normal second round at the 2024 PGA Championship. Now he was being fingerprinted, photographed, and handed a brown paper bag to store his personal belongings2.

After barely an hour in custody, Scheffler was released on his own recognizance and returned to Valhalla, arriving shortly after 9am and on his way to the driving range at 9:353. His tee time was 10:08. Scheffler stood on the tee, took a few practice swings, and striped a drive down the fairway. What followed over the next four hours was nothing short of remarkable: a 5-under 66, one of the best rounds of the day.

He walked off the course with a smile, took questions with humility, and returned home that evening still unsure how the day had unfolded the way it had. The charges were dropped two weeks later. But for anyone who witnessed it, May 17, 2024 became a permanent entry in golf’s mythology — the day a man went from a mugshot and jail to the leaderboard in under three hours.

How did he do it? Amidst the chaos in a place he never imagined himself, he returned to the solid ground of his familiar rituals. “I was shaking,” he would later admit. “I tried to go through my routine in the holding cell.... my head was still spinning.4”

Head spinning or not, Scheffler’s muscle memory kicked in. The routine took over. And the routine delivered.

The Leadership Challenge

How effective are you as a leader when your day starts in reaction mode?

Stephen Covey’s First Habit is “Be Proactive.” But if your first move is to pick up your phone and let emails, headlines, and other people’s needs dictate your mood and plans, you’ve started your day with “Be Reactive!” And the real danger is that if you begin in reaction mode, you’re likely to stay in reaction mode all day.

Just like elite athletes, intentional leaders don’t leave their mental and emotional readiness to chance. They craft routines that remove friction, regulate emotion, and sharpen focus — so they can perform well under pressure.

Because leadership is pressure.

The Leadership Opportunity

Whether you’re walking into a team meeting, a negotiation, or a difficult conversation—your energy, clarity, and presence matter. And those begin with how you start your day.

In high-stakes roles—military, athletic, or executive—routines aren’t luxuries. They’re necessities.

Navy SEALs, for example:

• Check gear: Repeated inspection builds trust in their equipment and readiness.

• Rehearse mentally: Box breathing, visualization, and walkthroughs keep the mind calm and sharp under stress.

• Rest and fuel: Warriors know hunger and fatigue dull decision-making.

And CEOs? Consider their rituals:

• Warren Buffett eats the same McDonald’s breakfast and drives the same route—freeing up decision-making bandwidth.

• Tim Cook wakes at 3:45 and begins by reading 100’s of emails from employees and customers before heading to the gym5.

• Jeff Bezos’ first hour is about “puttering” — reading the newspaper, drinking coffee, having breakfast with his family. He avoids looking at any screens during this time6.

• Oprah Winfrey grounds herself with a brisk walk with her dogs, followed by meditation, reading motivational cards and journaling7.

• Jack Dorsey stacks meditation, a 6-mile run, and cold plunges to build mental and physical resilience8.

Each of these routines is tailored. But the principle is universal: Start strong.

My own routine looks like this:

• 6:00 a.m. — Wake up (after a solid night of sleep, which starts with smart choices the night before)

• 6:05 — Coffee and quiet time to read Scripture and pray

• 6:45 — Review and reply to messages

• 7:15 — Plan the day ahead (see Chapter ___)

• 7:45 — Visit with Marta and compare schedules

• 8:00 — Shave and dress for the gym

• 8:15 — Drive to workout

• 8:30 — High-intensity class or Peloton ride

• 9:15 — Return home

• 9:30 — Shower and dress for the day

• 10:00 — Writing hour

• 11:00 — Client calls begin

I admit—this is a luxury schedule. I have no young kids at home. I control my calendar. If that’s not your situation, that’s okay. Don’t copy my routine. Build your own.

Whether you have 15, 30, 60, or 90 minutes, include these essentials:

• Move your body. Wake it up.

• Calm your mind. Breathe, pray, meditate, or read something grounding.

• Focus your priorities. Decide who you are and what matters most today.

My earlier book, Lead Like You Were Meant To, includes self-awareness prompts that can help you clarify what you need to build into your own routine.

And remember: If there’s ever a time of day to not overthink, it’s the morning. That’s where good autopilot belongs. Routines like these are healthy habits. They are necessary to starting the day as the best version of yourself.

Notes

1. https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/40162983/scottie-scheffler-detained-police-prior-start-pga-championship

2. Outside the gates of Valhalla Golf Club, traffic was backed up that morning due to a fatal accident — a tournament vendor had been struck and killed by a shuttle bus in the pre-dawn hours. In the confusion, Scheffler’s courtesy vehicle had tried to bypass traffic to reach the player entrance. A police officer reportedly ordered him to stop. Scheffler continued forward slowly, and in a tense exchange that followed, he was pulled from his car, handcuffed, and placed under arrest.

3. https://www.newsweek.com/sports/golf/full-timeline-events-scottie-schefflers-arrest-detainment-pga-championship-1902024

4. https://people.com/scottie-scheffler-admits-he-was-shaking-with-fear-during-arrest-8650709

5. https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/apple-ceo-tim-cooks-routine-emails-meetings-energy-bars/463506

6. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/jeff-bezos-says-the-1-hour-rule-makes-him-smarter-new-neuroscience-says-hes-right/90982121

7. https://www.hustleinspireshustle.com/blog/morning-routines

8. https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/how-daily-routines-of-jack-dorsey-elon-musk-mark-cuban-propel-their-success.html