7 Ways to Create a Productive Morning

Posted 7 months, 3 weeks ago at 9:00 am. 8 comments

How many of us wish our mornings were actually… you know, productive? Lots of us get into habits of whittling away our morning hours doing really dumb things - reading gossip websites, idly listening to music on iTunes, sleeping! - and in the end, get nothing worthwhile finished. Here are seven ways I’ve tested and tried out that help me create a fantastically productive morning:

1. The night before, identify what you want to accomplish. And once you do that, turn it into a plan. In order to succeed at anything - even if it’s just cleaning your house! - you need to know exactly what you are going after. By preparing yourself the night before, you escape the dreadful “Oh, you know, I worked for 5 hours yesterday but I didn’t get anything accomplished!” disease that’s making its rounds. As well as making a plan, prep your resources too if you have any. Lay them out so that when you get up, you can immediately start working and create a solid dent in your projects.

2. Get out of bed at an early time. I say “early time” instead of “obnoxiously early at 5:00am” because I honestly sympathize with those people who cannot get out of bed at 5:00am. My brain equates “dark” with “sleep” when it comes to waking up. If it’s dark outside at 5 in the morning, I’m so inclined to stay in bed and sleep until I see sunshine. I say, as long as you’re out of bed by 7:00 or 8:00, when you know the sun is shining and the birds are singing, you’re good to go. If you’re sleeping until 10:30am, that’s too late - your morning is busted.

3. Eat a light breakfast to fuel your body. I’m a huge fan of light, easy to digest breakfasts - you need fuel, but you only need enough fuel to get you to a mid-day lunch. However, most people think breakfast is the best meal of the day, so they stuff themselves with 20 pounds of food as if they’re a bodybuilder training for the Olympics. Why?!?! Shoveling food down your throat just because you ordered the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at IHOP and you want to see how many pancakes you can eat is NOT the way to go! Just eat a light breakfast of something like an apple or two, or a banana, or an egg and two pieces of toast. You’ll have the energy you need to get through the morning without feeling groggy and lethargic.

4. Early morning exercise? Your choice. Some people swear by exercising in the mornings. I deem it a gift from the devil himself. After exercising, I do feel really good, but I also feel like my mind is racing and I’m on a hyperactive roll for the next 2 hours. (That’s not really how I’d like to feeling during my mornings.) If exercising immediately out of bed gives you a boost of energy and mental clarity, go for it! Personally, I’ll stick to exercising in the late afternoons.

5. Turn off and eliminate all distractions. Distractions, distractions, distractions! There are a lot of distractions out there that can keep you from getting any sort of work done. And while we all need to be entertained and have fun in life, those distractions can wait. Where you want to go in life and what you want your destiny to be is so much more important than catching up on the latest gossip or watching morning talk TV.

6. Notify people that your morning hours are your work hours. People are the worst distractions EVER. They randomly appear at your house and knock on your door. They call you up “just to chat” for three hours. They incessantly bother you with gossip, stories, and random facts you don’t care to hear about. They’re talking machines that don’t have an off button. Best way to get out of this distraction? Just say “I need to get some very important work done this morning that will probably take until noon. I’ll talk to you then.” They’ll probably listen, as “important work” sounds like you’re on a lofty mission to save the world from doom and destruction.

7. Reward yourself at the end of your morning work! Nothing is more irritating than knowing you went above and beyond on a project and not receiving a “Wow, you did a fabulous job! Amazing work!” after you’re done. The same applies to work you just do for yourself. After you finish all of your work-related tasks for the morning, reward yourself! Go on a walk outside. Watch some TV. Eat a big lunch! Do something you’ll enjoy. =)

Now that posting this article is done, my morning work is completed!