It’s truly amazing but my morning routine really sets me up for a productive day. Here’s how it goes.
I don’t know about you but I always have great intentions when I start my day but without even realizing it…. bam… it totally goes sideways.
I get caught on Social Media, doing all the things that really don’t move the needle or get caught up in my own head- self doubt takes over, fears, imposter syndrome— you name it.
Yep, the day is shot to …. and you might as well give up and call it.
I used to beat myself up when I did this. Wonder why I just couldn’t stick to the plan.
So I tracked my days. Trying to figure out what gave me an edge— more focus, more energy and less time spent in my head.
And you know what? It changes. Based on the tasks I need to get done that week. And each month isn’t the same. I mean really, who can say that their days are perfect every time— that you accomplish your to-do list, you are balanced and doing all the right things. You’ve seen them too? The posts from folks telling you their “perfect” process!
I’ve tried a lot of them. Failed. Then I started experimenting on what works for me.
So here’s what I’ve learned. I need to take each day separately. Listen to what I’m feeling— both emotionally and physically. What do I have personally scheduled for the day? And, I approach my day with that in mind.
Here’s what I mean. I batch my work into weeks— a week for working on my blog, content, videos, and soon my podcasts. Based on my monthly and quarterly objectives and goals, I know what I’m planning and what I want to accomplish. It’s the execution that I am truly focused on.
The days that I show up as my best-self— flowing easily from task to task with ease and confidence usually go like this.
Up Early-
I function best when I get up early in the morning when the fur kiddos get me up around 5:45 or so. I get them fed and then I settle in with my coffee, IPad, and phone. I open GoodNotes 5 and plan my day– what I plan on eating, gratitude, review my goals, work on my top priorities for the day. And, I assess how yesterday went and see if there is anything I can improve.
Journal
I know this is weird but this is when I turn on a motivational audio or music and I start journaling. Sometimes I’m prompted by what’s being discussed on the audio and other days I do a download of my shitty thoughts. Either way, I turn my thoughts around for the day and get highly motivated to attack my goals. This usually takes about 20 minutes or so.
Meditation/Hypnosis
Days when I need extra support, I pop on a quick hypnosis session or meditation. Which one? It depends on where I think I need the most support. Do I need to feel grounded? Or is imposter syndrome or some other mindset thing hijacking my thoughts? That’s where I’ve learned to listen to what my body and soul is telling me.
For my coffee, planning my day and journaling I’m usually at 45 minutes. I know. I know. You’re going I don’t have 45 minutes in the morning. I’ve got to get the kids up and rolling, my partner, or I just need some extra shut eye! But before you roll over– ask yourself.
How have your days been going? Are you treating yourself with compassion, others with grace and compassion? If not, maybe take 15 minutes in the morning to journal/meditate and see what happens.
By this time, my hubby is getting up and we spend a little time talking and planning the day as a couple. Making sure we’ve covered all the tasks that need to get done.
Exercise- I then head to do my workout. My go-to workouts- yoga, rebounder, bike, rowing or strength training. I don’t spend a ton of time— 30-40 minutes but it helps get the blood flowing and sweaty. 🙂
From there, I eventually shower and log on. I know showering takes time 🙂 but everyone thanks me after a sweaty workout!
Here are the things I cannot cut from my mornings if I want to show up as my best self. My self-care- listening to motivational topics, meditation and exercise. Those three things ground me. And let’s be honest, I don’t get all of them in every morning. But if I get even 5 minutes of each, I’m so much better.
To be honest, I’ve tried a lot of different ways of structuring my days. Some have been epic failures and others have worked. But none of my days are consistent. Probably not what the gurus would tell me but by tracking what works for me— I found how I needed to show up.
My grounding practices in the morning help me to be more productive in my business.
The days that I show up as my best-self— flowing easily from task to task with ease and confidence usually go like this.
Up Early-
I function best when I get up early in the morning when the fur kiddos get me up around 5:45 or so. I get them fed and then I settle in with my coffee, IPad, and phone. I open GoodNotes 5 and plan my day– what I plan on eating, gratitude, review my goals, work on my top priorities for the day. And, I assess how yesterday went and see if there is anything I can improve.
Journal
I know this is weird but this is when I turn on a motivational audio or music and I start journaling. Sometimes I’m prompted by what’s being discussed on the audio and other days I do a download of my shitty thoughts. Either way, I turn my thoughts around for the day and get highly motivated to attack my goals. This usually takes about 20 minutes or so.
Meditation/Hypnosis
Days when I need extra support, I pop on a quick hypnosis session or meditation. Which one? It depends on where I think I need the most support. Do I need to feel grounded? Or is imposter syndrome or some other mindset thing hijacking my thoughts? That’s where I’ve learned to listen to what my body and soul is telling me.
For my coffee, planning my day, and journaling I’m usually at 45 minutes. I know. I know. You’re going I don’t have 45 minutes in the morning. I’ve got to get the kids up and rolling, my partner, or I just need some extra shut eye! But before you roll over– ask yourself.
How have your days been going? Are you treating yourself with compassion, others with grace and compassion? If not, maybe take 15 minutes in the morning to journal/meditate and see what happens.
By this time, my hubby is getting up and we spend a little time talking and planning the day as a couple. Making sure we’ve covered all the tasks that need to get done.
Exercise- I then head to do my workout. My go-to workouts- yoga, rebounder, bike, rowing or strength training. I don’t spend a ton of time— 30-40 minutes but it helps get the blood flowing and sweaty. 🙂
From there, I eventually shower and log on. I know showering takes time 🙂 but everyone thanks me after a sweaty workout!
Here are the things I cannot cut from my mornings if I want to show up as my best self. My self-care- listening to motivational topics, meditation and exercise. Those three things ground me. And let’s be honest, I don’t get all of them in every morning. But if I get even 5 minutes of each, I’m so much better.
To be honest, I’ve tried a lot of different ways of structuring my days. Some have been epic failures and others have worked. But none of my days are consistent. Probably not what the gurus would tell me but by tracking what works for me— I found how I needed to show up.
My grounding practices in the morning help me to be more productive in my business.
Productivity hacks for my business include:
Key things, I batch my work to keep me from flipping from thing to thing, topic to topic. It keeps my mind focused on that one thing. Example- if I know I need to do a lot of updates or new technology I batch that so I am really focused on technology and not trying to write a blog in between.
I keep Social Media to a minimum. I try really to only log on to interact and network and not to consume the content. It drives my husband nuts. He will ask if I saw something and I’m like nope— haven’t logged on today.
I limit my download of the news. And, this has been my hardest habit to break. I was a news junkie. But I realized I was downloading so much hate and grossness that I found it unhealthy. So I do a 2 minute scan and then shut it down.
I use automation where I can. Though technology can be my achilles heel, I know that I can’t do it all and until I can hire my team- I need to leverage automation as much as possible.
Do you get overwhelmed with all the tasks? Me too. So I’ve learned to break things into smaller tasks. That way I can make forward progress. I also group things for the week and know what I need to accomplish for the week. From there I work on the items when I feel like doing them.
What? Yep.
This week was focused on writing blogs for the next month. I knew the steps that I needed to take- research, outline, write, edit, design post, promote. But I gave myself the flexibility to not have to work on them in a specific order. If I felt like doing research— I did the research. As long as I know the end goal, I don’t worry about the steps and allow myself to work intuitively. BUT, here’s the key. I will move from topic to topic somedays but I won’t start designing, posting and promoting until I have all of them done for the month. That’s like trying to work on and email while creating your pins for Pinterest- Two different skills and very different task.
Always spend time in your day on those tasks that are going to move you forward. Your business. Your Health. Your mental health. Be positive. Be compassionate with yourself and with others. And always serve from the heart.
If you keep those things in mind, the rest will flow naturally. Let me know what works best for you in the comments below.