How to Rock Your Mornings (Every Day)

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Categories: self improvement

You’ve had days which got off to a fantastic start. You were focused, alert, energetic, and you stormed through a ton of work. By lunch time, you were feeling great: motivated to carry on and make great gains in the afternoon too.

I’m guessing, though, that you sometimes have days which don’t go quite so well. Maybe you think you’ve done everything right – you got up on time, you ate breakfast – but somehow, you end up spending your morning sorting out emails, struggling with little problems, and failing to focus on what really matters.

Here’s how to rock your mornings, every single day:

Get Up Ten Minutes Earlier

Some folks thrive on getting up really early and meditating, reading or working while the rest of the world is asleep. If that’s you, great, keep it up.

For most of us, though, getting up at 5am sounds like hell. The thing is, setting your alarm ten minutes earlier can make a surprisingly significant difference to your morning.

You won’t feel rushed. You’ll have time to sit and enjoy eating breakfast – rather than stuffing it down as fast as possible before work. You’ll start your day in a great frame of mind.

Do the Important Stuff First

Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard this advice before. But are you actually following it?

If you want to get your day off to a great start, you need to get your important tasks done first. For most of us, that isn’t email or Facebook. Important tasks look like:

  • Preparing for an upcoming presentation
  • Writing part of a big report
  • Working on that essay due for class next week
  • Spending some time planning the future direction of your company
  • Client work which forms the bulk of your income

How about you don’t check your emails until 10am, and spend one solid hour working on something important – is the world really going to fall apart?

Get Things Off Your Mind

When you’re working on something mission-critical, it’s all too easy to get waylaid. Perhaps you’re busily writing up a report, only to suddenly remember that you need to collect your dry cleaning after work. Maybe you’re hunting through books for the right reference for your essay, only to suddenly remember an email you meant to reply to.

It’s easy for these thoughts to distract you completely. Either you switch to what seems urgent, or you carry on with the important task – but with half your mind on all those “mustn’t forget” items.

There’s an easy fix for this. Keep a notebook close at hand where you can write down anything that crops up. You can deal with it as soon as you’ve got through a chunk of your important work.

Take a Break

This might sound a bit counter-intuitive. After all, if your work is going swimmingly, why would you want to stop?

It’s easy to keep on and on working – and hit a wall. The best time for a break is before you feel absolutely drained. Take a break while you’ve got some energy left, and you’ll feel much more like getting back to work once it’s over.

It’s a good idea to take a break in the middle of a task, rather than at the end of one – that way, you’ll be able to get straight back into working, without having to figure out what you’re doing next.

Stay Focused

When you are working, work. Use your breaks to read webcomics or watch viral videos. Stick to one task at a time – don’t have your inbox open while you’re putting together your presentation.

If you work in an unfocused, patchy way, jumping between tasks, you’ll generally find that you don’t work very efficiently or effectively. You might get your inbox clear, but make very little progress on your report. You might feel hectically “busy”, without really accomplishing anything.

How can you improve your ability to focus? You could listen to music, or follow some tips on building concentration. Ultimately, you’ll find that the more you work at focusing, the easier it becomes!

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Related Articles:

How To Increase Self Discipline

How To Motivate Yourself

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

    I love the “Get Up Ten Minutes Earlier” tactic.

    I always recommend to change old habits or develop new ones in a way that doesn’t affect your daily routine. You introduce very small changes that are totally insignificant and work under the radar of your habit defense.

    As time goes on, the small changes will accumulate and you will realize a significant change in your habits.

    If you wake up ten minutes earlier every month, by the end of the year you’ll be waking up 2 hours earlier. That’s 2 new hours added to your daily life!

  • http://hanofharmony.com The Vizier

    Hi Ali,

    This is a great post to kickstarting your day in a great way!

    When I was in the army, I always woke up earlier than expected so that I would not have to rush. I would also be prepared before everyone else which allowed me to relax a little before the day began. Getting up 10 minutes earlier is a great way to kick start your day.

    Focusing on the important stuff first is a effective way to stay productive. After you are done with what is important, you can relax a little and do less important stuff like checking emails and facebook. I like this point because I know from personal experience if I check my emails and facebook first, it would take forever to get my day started.

    Taking a break in the midst of work is a good way to stick it through to the end. It is like getting your second wind so you can last longer. I like how you suggest taking a break in the middle of a task. Because you know your work is not finished yet, you still have the momemtum to keep you going if you take a short break. If you were to stop at the end when you finished, it would be very hard to move on due to inertia and your having expended all your energy in the previous task.

    Thank you for sharing this great post!

  • http://www.RandyLeeMcLean.com Randy McLean

    Hi Ali,

    Most people have trouble getting up earlier because they refuse to go to bed earlier. A classic line is “I don’t have time for breakfast” yet they stay up past 11 pm trying to squeeze out every minute possible.

    If you are single you can be a lot more flexible with your time but once you have a family that can change. That is when you have to start doing the important stuff first as you mentioned.

    Lately I have been following the 80/20 rule and find it is working great. At first I missed reading the celebrity gossip but not so much now.

    Randy

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

    Ali,

    Good tips. In addition to waking up ten minutes earlier, it really helps your morning if you get everything organized the night before and go to bed early. Wash the dishes, pick out your clothes, and make sure the bathroom is clean before you go to bed.

    Your morning will go smoothly (no wondering where your dress shoes are), and you’ll be well rested even if you get up 10 minutes earlier.

  • http://richlionhearted.blogspot.com/ Rich Proctor

    I love the get up 10 minutes early idea. Amazing how difficult it is to get people to buy into this simple idea.

    I start every day with what I call my Hour Of Power, have been for years. I get up an hour early and I dedicate that first hour of each day to personal improvement of just 1 percent from the day before. Through consistent study, exercise, and anything else that I can find that inspires me, this habit has been a life-changer for me. I wouldn’t start my day any other way.

    A little extra sleep could never provide me with the same power to meet the challenges of the day.

  • http://www.successdemandsaction.net Allen Loomis

    I focus on the accumulation of energy when I wake up. In my opinion a well planned morning schedule is integral to maintaining health and important energy levels.

    Great Tips, as always looking forward to the next article!

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  • http://www.mental-freedom.com Chris Ginsburg

    Great article. How you start your day has so much significance and yet most people ignore the building blocks of their day (including me at times).

  • Archan Mehta

    Nice post, Ali, as usual.

    I enjoy reading your work and this was right on the money.

    It is also a good idea to plan one day in advance.

    For example, write down your schedule on Monday night for what you are going to actually do come Tuesday morning. You can do this a few minutes before you go to sleep. This can help you schedule your time according to your priorities and you will be able to use your time more efficiently. This can enhance your daily effectiveness.

    It may also be wise to divide your time into blocks of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes and 60 minutes. This can save you from distractions and is helpful for those of us who have a short attention span and can get bored easily.

    I learned these tips, of course, from Michael Masterson, a wealthy and succesful
    businessman. Michael has been using this schedule for years and it enabled him to make rapid progress in his career. Hope this helps you too. Cheers.

  • ashfaq

    one can make the most of these advice. it is really tremendous. i enjoyed reading it.