5 Simple Steps To Start Your Day Productively

Written by Thanh Pham - 21 Comments
Categories: productivity tips, self improvement

It can be a challenge to jumpstart your productivity every day. That certainly was the case for me as I had no consistency at all. Some days I would start off my productive but for the majority I wasn’t. Over the years talking, seeing and living with productive friends (they are all self-help junkies like myself) I’ve noticed they all do similar things in the morning, so I started doing what they do. What one man can do, another man can do too. Right? After doing it myself I’ve come up with tried and tested ways to get yourself in a productive mode every single day. Here are five really simple and easy steps to jumpstart your day for maximum productivity.

1. Stoke the fire.

Before we can get any work done we have to warm ourselves up. After you wake up your body and mind are just warming up so to speak but we want to get them ready before we start working.  It is like stoking a fire; you need to warm the coal bit by bit before the fire lights up. Your physical energy is your main source of fuel so we have to make sure to have it stoked before we can use it. This starts with freshening yourself up. Some people prefer to exercise before they start their workday. Others just need to use the bathroom, change their clothes and then start. Find what your routine is for stoking the fire and do that every morning before you start your day. By building a consistency in your routine you will discover that it will get easier and easier to start your day.

2. Upgrade yourself.

After stoking the fire, especially if you have exercised, is a great time to relax and upgrade your skills. Anything that will help you relax, further your education or calm your mind would be good to do. Over time when you upgrade your skills you will get better at your job and the things you do. Your productivity will increase as you learn to do things smarter, more efficient and in less time.

Meditation is a good way to spend your time before you go to the next step. Reading a book, reviewing notes and reading inspirational quotes are one my personal favorite activities.  Oftentimes the nuggets you pick up during this time will affect how you get work done that day. Perhaps reading one chapter in a book changes your view on how you should do things or an inspirational quote gets you all excited on your future. We often don’t find time to educate ourselves so doing it in the morning (when there are no distractions) is the best time to do it.

3. Write down what you want to do today.

In order to for you to get work done, you have to be absolutely clear on what you want to achieve with actionable steps. When you don’t know how to achieve your outcome it becomes a lot harder to reach it. It’s like driving a car in foggy weather. Sure you might reach the destination but you will go very slow and with a lot of hesitancy. Instead, when you know what to do exactly in simple steps it’s like driving in sunny weather with a GPS system next to you. You know what to do, when to do it, you’re more motivated and you will reach your destination much faster.

Now that you know the outcome that you want, break it down backwards in actionable steps. Once you have the steps, decide which ones you are going to do first and write them down for you to do today.

4. Visualize the consequences.

One of the most powerful ways to overcome procrastination is by visualizing the consequences of your actions. Anything you do of importance will have (major) consequences for your life, be it positive or negative. By considering the positive consequences you can fabricate motivation for yourself.

Tony Robbins is famous for saying that we either move away from pain or we move towards pleasure. Would you get yourself started if you knew that doing X, Y, and Z would make you a millionaire? You bet you would if a million dollars had positive consequences for you. The reverse is also true where pain can act like your motivator. Would you act on your work if you knew not doing A, B, and C would disappoint your family and friends? I think so!

Before you do anything, take a moment to think and visualize the consequences. See how the consequences can make you get to work.  Especially focus on the positive consequences because they will be your mental fuel for motivation.

5. Do it.

If you’ve come this far doing all the previous steps you’re already more productive than most people. However, what separates the best from the rest is execution. At this point you’re way passed the tipping point and now it’s time to get the snowball rolling. You have yourself set up for a productive day, the roadmap is in place, you know what the consequences can be and now the only thing remaining is to take action. So let’s get to work!

 

Thanh Pham is a productivity nerd and enjoys writing on time management. When he is not traveling the world with his gadgets, he is reading and writing on business, self-help and productivity.

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  • http://pererikolsen.com Per-Erik Olsen

    A great post Thanh. These are all good points how to start your day. It takes a while to get it working, but after some weeks you can’t be without your morning ritual. What I feel can be a little dangerous is to make the list in point 3 too long. (if you are a optimistic person). That can be somewhat frustrating! :-)

  • http://amenajarioradea.weebly.com/ vio

    Hello….Nice bloog

  • http://www.2knowmyself.com farouk

    visualization has always done miracles for me
    thank you :) )

  • http://www.asianefficiency.com/ AE Thanh

    Per-Erik Olsen – Yeah having a good morning ritual is key to waking up productive.

    Farouk – Nice. That’s the best way to program your subconscious.

  • http://simonstapleton.com Simon Stapleton

    Thanh this is great advice, and most of your ideas are proven on real academic research too. I think points (3) and (4) are the most important. The ‘visual’ element is key. Writing our goals down is a tried and tested method of increasing motivation. Even if you don’t believe it! And visualization – grounded in NLP practices too. Again, you don’t even need to believe it for it to work. It just does.

    I would add that writing our immediate goals down *the night before* is even more effective. I remember reading about a consultant back in the early 1900s who went to Charles Schwab and advised the management team to do this, and was paid $35,000 USD for this single piece of advice (millions in today’s money!)

    Great piece!

    Simon Stapleton

  • http://twitter.com/subliminalmp3s2 LYX

    The steps are amazingly simple, I never even thought about this before I came across this page. Will try these steps and what happens. Thanks for the sharing :)

  • http://www.asianefficiency.com/ AE Thanh

    @Simon Stapleton – I like that tip of doing it the night before. Several people have told me when you think about things before bed, your subconscious will work on it during your sleep. That’s why I usually think of problems before bed, but it’s a great idea to start writing down my goals before bed.

    @LYX: Let us know how it is working out!

  • http://www.transformationalmotivation.com M. A. Tohami

    “A good book has no ending.” ~R.D. Cumming

    When you read a good book, it becomes the beginning of a transformation in a certain aspect of your life.

  • http://topmemorytips.com/ Warren

    I have found using a simple Concentration Builder over time helps you to concentrate.

    Whenever you are walking anywhere, simply count your steps.
    For instance, if you pick the number 4, it goes like this
    step. 1…step. 2…..step 3…..step. 4 and start over at 1.

    If you find your mind wandering, no need to beat yourself
    up.Just go back to focusing on counting your steps.

    Practice this over the next 2 weeks and watch your concentration
    gradually improve and your productivity reach new heights.

    Warren
    http://www.TopMemoryTips.com

  • http://upgrade-complete.com Sean

    I loved the terminology “Upgrade Yourself” hehe :P

    Meditation is great, the best time is in the morning right when you wake up. Just sit quietly and think positive thoughts and what makes you happy

  • http://www.balancedworklife.com/blog Bryce Christiansen

    Writing down what I want to do today is always a huge productivity boost. I almost always have more things written down then I can possibly do, but it gets me excited and moving at a fast pace. Before I know it my day is over and I had a great time throughout it.

  • http://www.Mazzastick.com Justin | Mazzastick

    I prefer starting my day slow and steady instead of fast and panicky. It makes the transition much easier from sleep state to waking state.

    Writing down goals is essential because the mind get’s too easily distracted.

  • Larry Pig

    What about sex clowns? That is my top priority list when I wake up.

  • Chetan

    Dear Thanh ! great post and what i liked the most is Visualize the consequences. Like if my family is dreaming of big house and if i do not work hard or do not use my spare time for learning new thing / doing positive work then I am not working towards their dream :)

  • http://www.minilocMarketing.com @justinMski

    Awesome advice and all spot on! I like efficient- exercise and upgrade at the same time much as possible. U can interchange prayer and meditation.

    And ,because I do the same thing As Bryce – get energized making a list- but i make a giant list, then i get lost in it, or get frustrated because I didn’t get it all done

    So I was taught to use three separate lists
    #1 is priority items that need to be done ASAP
    #2 is urgent items that need to be done sometime today or tomorrow and will become a priority if they ate not done.
    #3important items need to be done within the week month et cetera so forth
    then I try to reduced down to three items per list that are active with a due date.
    Peope that are advanced can target more “active” items, but I heard to keep it near 5 or you will lose focus

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  • http://lifechngr.com Brandon Avance

    Enjoyed the tips. I’m going to write down my todo’s today and do them.
    I’m not much for workouts in the morning, but I sure love an hour run after work to get rid of the stress of the day and create some separation from work and home life.
    Good blog! Press on.

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