10 Amazing Tricks To Get The Most Out Of Your Morning
Utilizing a few tricks can help you super-charge your productivity and make the most of your morning. Whether you’re genuinely a morning person or just faking it, you can add precious hours to your week by implementing these simple tricks to reclaim your mornings.
Select what you’re going to wear the night before
Your decision-making skills aren’t at their best when you first wake up. Put an end to time-sucking outfit indecision by selecting your outfit before you go to bed. Even better, streamline your work wardrobe by sticking to classic essentials and colors to further minimize your decision-making time. Leave color and style creativity to the weekends!
Create a morning routine and stick to it
Put your morning on autopilot from the time your alarm goes off to the time you reach the office by creating a routine. When you do the same things in the same order each morning, you’re less likely to forget anything, it minimizes decision-making, and speeds up the time it takes you to move through tasks.
When you get to the office, use your first 30 minutes carefully
Take care of your top, quick to-do items first before the distractions have time to creep in. These should be your priorities, not someone else’s! Research shows that this is a key to the success of top leaders.
Stay away from your email
Your email inbox is generally full of other people’s priorities. If something were a real emergency, you would have gotten a call. (Seriously, who emails about real emergencies!) Stay away from this time-sucking black hole for as long as you can to keep your morning on-course.
Don’t answer the phone or online chat
Even the shortest calls or chats can quickly derail the rest of your day, so train yourself to keep distractions out for as long as possible. You’ll be amazed what you can accomplish in as little as one uninterrupted hour! Plus, if there is an emergency, the caller will typically either leave a message or call back. If you’re expecting an important call, be sure to check caller ID before picking up.
Start with something important
Schedule the most critical client meeting or revenue generating activity for early morning. By starting your day with a milestone activity, you will stay motivated throughout the day.
Spend a little time working on your passion project
There’s nothing quite like spending a short time on something you really care about or something that is creative to boost your engagement and keep stress at bay. In fact, research supports this very idea and shows that creative side projects help you perform better at work.
Design your morning around your energy levels
Everyone’s energy levels peak and fall at different times in the morning. Schedule your morning in blocks to take advantage of these peaks and valleys. Schedule tasks that need your creative energy for the spikes.
Leave busy work for the end of the day
Starting your day by doing simple, mindless tasks might be tempting, especially when you’re feeling a bit tired, but it will only make your day feel longer. Most people experience a drop in their energy level around 2pm in the afternoon, making it a perfect time to do these kinds of things versus your most essential to-do list items.
Knock out a few small things right before lunch
By taking care of a few quick tasks before your morning wraps up, you can quickly check off quite a few things on your to-do list and head to lunch with a strong feeling of accomplishment. This will set the stage for a productive afternoon as well.
