Laura Stack* says whether you are the rise and shine kind of person or the bleary night owl, you can’t avoid the mornings.
There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who are morning people and those who hate them (ha-ha!).
Regardless of which you are, one thing’s for sure: We all need to maximise our mornings.
Granted, not everyone walks into the office at peak energy, and that’s fine.
Despite all the advice out there telling you to do your hardest task first, if you’re not a morning person, you won’t be at your productive best.
So how do you get the ball rolling? Try these four simple tips.
Feed the machine:
Eat a decent breakfast. Your blood sugar is at its lowest upon waking, so you need energy to get going.
Try eggs, cereal, toast, oatmeal, or fruit to get the motor running.
You’ll feel more energetic and awake with a bit in your stomach.
Even if you aren’t hungry, eat something anyway. Think of it as fuel for your brain.
Engage autopilot:
Arrange your mornings so you have to make as few decisions as possible.
It may sound crazy, but studies show we all have a limited amount of willpower available for use each day.
The more decisions you make, the more willpower you use up — so it may prove harder to maintain productivity later in the day.
Besides, it’s easier and faster all around if you set up a routine you can perform easily and automatically every morning, both before leaving home and after you arrive in the office.
If you know exactly what comes next, you don’t have to waste any time between tasks.
Caffeinate as necessary:
Many of us need a little jump-start in the morning.
Caffeine is a great legal stimulant, and coffee makes an excellent delivery system.
If you’re most definitely not a morning person, a cup can provide the boost that gets you going.
I have one cup a day, but it’s a very large cup.
I drink a cup of water first, and then nurse my cup longer than usual by heating it up in the microwave.
Spacing out my coffee this way keeps me from experiencing a caffeine crash.
Prepare for your workday the previous afternoon:
About half an hour before quitting time, take a few moments to put together your to-do list for the next day.
This way, you don’t have to worry about it in the morning, and so you’ll know exactly what should come next whenever you finish a task.
You may also want to clean up your workspace before leaving for the day.
This is standard practice in many blue-collar jobs, mostly so the worker’s tools end up where they should, and therefore easily accessible in the morning.
This works for white-collar workers too; plus, the lack of clutter makes it easier to focus on the work at hand.
Workplace decluttering guides always recommend you clean up both physical and digital desktops to aid focus.
Whether you like mornings or not, you’ll always have to navigate them — even when you work the graveyard shift.
Rather than allow yourself to bog down early in the day, whether because you’re sluggish or distracted by other things, do your level best to put those hours to good use.
These tips should help you get started — and they’re only a springboard for the many other tips you can experiment with in your quest to master your mornings.
*Laura Stack is a keynote speaker, author and authority on productivity and performance. She has written seven books, including her newest: Doing the Right Things Right: How the Effective Executive Spends Time. She can be contacted at theproductivitypro.com
This article first appeared on Laura’s blogsite.
