Daylight Savings got me thinking...
…that whenever there’s a shift in external factors (be it daylight, my age, number of babies in my home, etc.) I reevaluate my morning routine.
I have always been, and probably always will be, a human who lives her best life in the early mornings. I struggle to stay up late and socialize in the nighttime, but I will gladly wake up before the sun and get my day started early. It’s my happy place.
But even though I always love the mornings (or maybe because I do…), I’m constantly thinking of how I can squeeze a bit more out of my mornings.
Today I’m talking about productivity.
Of course, mornings don’t always have to be that. After all, there are some stages of life, times during the month, or days of the week that aren’t meant to be productive. They’re meant to be joyful, or restful, or simply quiet and still.
But….
…today I want to talk about productivity. 😉 It’s a thing that lots of us want to get better at, and I have these two tiny tricks to increase morning productivity. I do these each morning that help me get a few extra things done. Here they are…
two tiny tricks to increase your morning productivity
One of these is a mental shift, and the other is an actual tangible thing that you will do. I think that they’re both pretty great (they’ve literally changed my life!) and so that’s why I’m sharing them with you.
As with any self help/self development/advice, it’s always worth remembering: take what works for you, leave the rest. We’re all different humans with different ways of looking at the world. If either of these tricks help you, I’m so glad. And if this is a “good for her, not for me” situation, I’m so glad about that, too.
1. Decide on a “no negotiations” rule with yourself. Sounds silly, but this mental trick really works when you’re getting out of bed and about to do something not-so-fun, like unload the dishwasher or jump on the Peloton.
At night when I’m setting my alarm for an early workout, I tell myself, “I’m not the type of person who negotiates with an alarm. When it goes off, I get up.”
I also tell myself, “in the morning, I’ll wake up and I’ll brush my teeth right away.”
And then in the morning…I do it! My fuzzy morning brain doesn’t have a lot of power, but as I repeat those things to myself, my brain starts to believe them. I guess I AM the type of person who doesn’t argue! I’ll just get up and do what I said I’d do.
Sounds silly, but a no negotiations rule really works with your morning brain if you repeat it often enough.
“I’m the type of person who wakes up and does the thing she says she would do.”
2. Time block your mornings by two categories: “emotional” and “physical.” I found that I had so man y things I enjoyed doing in my morning hours, from gratitude journaling to working out, making my coffee and getting the boys breakfast ready, doing a morning meditation and repeating affirmations, unloading the dishwasher and taking a shower…that I felt more frazzled than anything else.
And with a finite amount of time before those two precious babies of mine wake up, I really had to figure out what to prioritize each morning.
Enter: this little rule.
Each day is either for emotional health or physical health.
If it’s an emotional health morning, I’ll choose a slower cup of coffee and my gratitude journal practice. Or maybe I’ll sleep 30 minutes later and do a 20 minute meditation before the babies wake up.
If it’s a physical health morning, I’m up early to drink 1/2 of a cup of hot black cup coffee and then dive into my morning workout, take a quick shower, and move on with my day.
Again, sounds simple, but by blocking my mornings out by broad categories, I’m able to actually accomplish so much more by the end of the week.
PS: a few other morning habits that have made my life better, and how to read a bit more this year.
