One idea. One structure. One action. A curated set of five.
THE IDEA
Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe, has described how he avoids opening email in the first minutes of the day.
Not to “win the morning,” but because starting with too much variability makes the rest of the day less coherent.
The pattern appears clearly:
Across founders, athletes, investors, and operators, the first minutes of the day tend to be predictable, quiet, and low— not optimized, not aesthetic, simply stable.
A tennis player repeating the same warm-up sequence.
An investor reviewing one document before opening any channels.
A founder beginning mornings the same way, even while traveling.
A designer opening yesterday’s work before checking messages.
Different environments, same operational logic:
A low-variation beginning creates a cleaner runway for the day.
A steady start doesn’t increase productivity in the morning;
it improves the quality of the hours that follow.
THE BREAKDOWN
The Stable Start
The pattern reduces to three structural elements:
A fixed beginning
Reduces the friction of deciding how to start.
Delayed external input
Preserves clarity before the day accelerates.
A brief transition into direction
A small, deliberate entry point into the first meaningful block.
This is not about perfect mornings.
It is about reducing early volatility.
THE APPLICATION
Select one beginning. Repeat it for five consecutive days.
Examples:
hydrate → step outside
open one document
review yesterday’s notes
sit briefly before input
The goal is not the activity.
The goal is a predictable entry point.
CURATED FIVE (FOR THE WEEK)
A short set of external pieces that reinforce this week’s idea:
Essay → “Why Simple Beginnings Matter” — Farnam Street
A concise look at how repeated openings reduce friction and stabilize attention.
Tool → Centered App
A minimal workspace designed to reduce early cognitive scatter.
Research → APA: “Choice Reduction Improves Task Initiation”
A simple explanation of why fewer options create smoother starts.
Operator Insight → Reed Hastings on protecting early-morning space (WSJ Interview)
A real-world example of a founder using low-variation starts to maintain decision quality.
Prompt → “What increases volatility in the first minutes of my day?”
One question to recalibrate the week.