The Ultimate Delighter
A DelightRoom engineer's journey to building a successful morning #1
Just five more minutes
I force my eyes open to the sound of a blaring alarm. The mere fact that I have to wake up feels utterly unfair. Especially when I barely managed to fall asleep last night. Why does this happen? The way I feel when falling asleep is the exact opposite of how I feel when waking up. My phone, plugged into the charger, sits at 100% battery, but I feel like I'm hovering around 15%. Should I take a day off, or just sleep for five more minutes? Still lying in bed, I weigh my commute time against the current time, calculate exactly how many more minutes I can squeeze in, and reset the alarm.
Does this sound familiar? Looking back at my mornings three years ago, this was exactly me. Things are very different now. Not only do I wake up feeling refreshed, but I also complete a morning routine of reading, exercising, and doing some light chores before heading to work with a clear head and a light heart.
This post covers the journey of a once-feeble engineer striving to build a successful morning. I hope this helps others like me create their own successful mornings.
Just one more minute: starting incredibly small
While going through the daily motions of wanting to manage my health but struggling to put any methods into practice, I read a book called "The Bulletproof Diet". The book details how the author, who used to live completely exhausted, improved his life and reclaimed his health. At the core of it was drinking bulletproof coffee. Bulletproof coffee is made by blending high-quality brewed coffee with unsalted butter and MCT oil. Since it involved some unfamiliar ingredients and required buying equipment, the recipe wasn't exactly simple.
Still, I decided to start with this. The benefits of bulletproof coffee—providing immediate energy and aiding in weight loss—were simply too appealing to me. I felt like drinking it would cure my chronic fatigue and help me diet effectively. But it wasn't easy. I was always rushing to get up and head to work in the mornings. There was absolutely no time to make and drink bulletproof coffee.
So, I first decided to pull my wake-up time forward. I used to barely drag myself out of bed by 8 AM, but I ambitiously resolved to wake up at 6 AM. How did it turn out? I failed miserably. After hitting snooze for five more minutes, then another five, I ended up getting out of bed at the exact same time as always.
I changed my mindset. Since people don't change easily, let's just wake up one minute earlier every day. Waking up at 7:59 AM honestly felt no different. About two weeks later, when I woke up at 7:55 AM (yes, waking up one minute earlier every day was no joke either), the thought of maybe reading a book crossed my mind. I finally had my first task to do.
Repeating a task turns it into a habit
Once I had something to do, waking up five minutes earlier became a breeze. The realization that I had read a book in the morning gave me a sense of accomplishment and made me proud of myself. By the time I was waking up at 7:50 AM, I finally started drinking bulletproof coffee. The effects of the coffee worked wonders for me, too. (Butter and oil in coffee... contrary to my expectations, it tasted surprisingly like a normal latte.)
Coffee and reading—a much better morning compared to before. However, another problem arose. Cleaning up the dishes created from making the coffee was quite a chore. Using time as an excuse in the morning and fatigue as an excuse in the evening, I found myself constantly putting it off, which made drinking bulletproof coffee every day difficult.
Still, I didn't give up. I reminded myself that drinking bulletproof coffee once a week was better than not drinking it at all. A few more weeks passed, and when I was waking up at 7:30 AM, I started doing the dishes every morning. A flow had been established: making bulletproof coffee → reading → washing dishes → commuting. A small, yet distinct morning routine was born. Riding this flow and repeating it naturally turned it into a habit. I realized that it’s okay not to be perfectly consistent. What truly matters is starting over whenever you can and doing it repeatedly.
It was only after joining DelightRoom that I learned something fascinating: I had actually been utilizing the principles of behavioral science. To take action, you need motivation, ability, and a prompt. I had started incredibly small to make the action easy, and I had designed each task to act as a prompt for the next one. (If you're curious about the principles of behavioral science, check out this link.)
Mornings change your day, and then...
By starting small, I gradually transformed my mornings. As a result, my perspective on the day shifted as well. Not only do I value my morning time much more, but my work life—which takes up the bulk of the day—has also changed. I've broken free from the boredom of working just to clock my hours. Now, I feel I'm spending my precious time finding joy, meaning, and a sense of reward in my work.
Shortly after joining DelightRoom, I shared this exact story. Since so many people here have their own morning routines, we exchanged a ton of feedback. Simply comparing our routines was incredibly helpful. I picked up information on apps to track routines, morning meditation, and the benefits of working out. It was genuinely impressive to see how deeply invested everyone was in having a successful morning. I believe exchanging feedback allowed us to positively influence one another.
In my case, I clearly remember when I shared the concept of bulletproof coffee. You'd expect people to just nod and move on, but many were willing to go beyond mere curiosity and actually put it into practice. Consequently, the company provided the equipment needed to make the coffee, and we pooled our money to buy the ingredients so we could make and drink it together at the office every morning. (Nowadays, the company fully subsidizes all expenses related to bulletproof coffee. That's right—if you join DelightRoom, you can enjoy bulletproof coffee for breakfast!)
So far, I've outlined a part of my journey in striving to build a successful morning. There's still so much I haven't covered. Later on, I'll talk more in detail about my diet, supplements, sleep, and the finer points of my morning routine. Thanks for reading all the way to the end!
SMIS, Swift man in Seoul
I'd like to wrap up this post by extending my gratitude to all Delighters who pursue better health, growth, and efficiency.
If you want an environment where you can grow as an iOS engineer! Check out the Alarmy team
References
The Bulletproof Diet
Super Human
Tiny Habits
Effective Programming
Primed to Perform
By popular request, here is my current routine.
Morning Routine
Declare "I slept well!"
Check weight
Drink water
Pack lunch
Workout (Mon, Wed, Fri)
Care for the cat
Write down the 2 most important tasks for the day
Make the bed
Shower
Get dressed
Meditate
Read
Daily coaching
Celebrate myself
2. AM Routine
Drink bulletproof coffee + take supplements (CoQ10)
Make a list of the 3 most important work tasks
Turn off notifications and work with deep focus for 25 minutes
3. Evening Routine
Start intermittent fasting after dinner
Shower
Read
Write in gratitude journal
4. Sleep Routine
Make the room dark, quiet, and cool
Step away from electronics
Review whether today's tasks and work are complete