The Morning Routine

I thought I understood what a morning routine was, but after listening to the Operation Self Reset podcast with Jake Nawrocki and guest Wilson Lawrence, I think I may be wrong. It’s more than just doing things the same way each morning. Yes, that is still a routine, but it may not be the most effective or productive routine.

How you start the day has a huge influence on your emotions and on your mood, so it’s important to start your morning the right way.

Start Your Day In Silence

You’ve got to turn off all the noise and give yourself some silent time. Your goal is to not be distracted by technology and you have the power to control this. Sometimes things are out of our control, but this is definitely not.

When we sleep our brain is recharged, therefore first thing in the morning our brain is ready to do some important work, but what do most people do when they wake up, they check their social media pages and their emails. This is a bad way to start the day because it puts your mind in reactive mode and you’re now dragged into someone else’s agenda.

Social media and emails may need to be checked, but avoid first thing in the morning when your brain is at its most creative level. Mornings are for planning, prioritizing and CREATION, not CONSUMPTION. 

Time Blocking

You need to learn the importance of Time Blocking. Blocking out specific times in your diary to focus on and complete certain tasks, and your morning routine is one such task. By blocking out time in your diary it makes it much easier to say NO to people, and tell them why.

You should, therefore, block out time during the day to check your social media pages and emails.  

Develop Affirmations

I know affirmations sound a bit woo-woo, but they have been proven to work. Write down how you see your day running and then feel and create the emotion by saying it out loud. This is especially important if you have a specific task to complete, an important meeting to attend, or maybe even a hot date.

What Is Your One Thing

This is straight out of the book The One Thing, by Gary Keller. Ask yourself, what is the one thing that I can do, such by doing it will make everything else easier or unnecessary?

It’s all about doing the most important thing first. When you know what your one thing is for the day it keeps you on track and limits distractions.

I’m easily distracted, so I personally have a reminder set on my phone that goes off at 1 pm each day reminding me to stay focused on my one thing, and it definitely helps.

Quantity versus Quality

A stressful day normally equates to a busy day and most people become busy when they focus on quantity instead of quality. It’s been proven that most people cannot multitask, so trying to do too many things at once is unproductive and less effective than focusing on one thing. Focusing on your one thing is all about quality work.

Ask the focusing question: What is the one thing I can do

It’s An Investment Not A Chore