Productivity Hacks: When You Wake Up, Think

This post is part of a series in which LinkedIn Influencers share their secrets to being more productive. See all their #productivityhacks here.

Perhaps William Blake, the 18th century English poet, said it best:

Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night. [1]

I was introduced to this profound quote by Steven Murphy, chief executive officer of Christie's International, the 248-year-old worldwide leader in the global art market. We were talking about how to structure your time for optimal productivity and Steve inspired me with his daily regimen of thought and action grounded in this reference. With additional input from two books that I highly recommend, I have been trying to follow Blake’s dictum. So far it’s not only leading to greater productivity but enhanced satisfaction as well.

Most people, especially Americans, are obsessed by time management, fitting more activity into less time. One of the most audacious and effective architects of how to design your life is Tim Ferris. In his seminal book, The 4-Hour Workweek, he defines the problem as people suffering from “time famine.” That is the feeling that there is simply too much to do, too much information to consume, too much communication in which to engage, and too many quotidian responsibilities to fulfill in too little time. It’s nearly impossible to keep your head above water, much less accomplish the professional and personal goals you care most about (that is when you even find a moment to get off the hamster wheel and think about what it is you really do want). Both Blake and Ferris, in their own ways and in their own centuries, turn the notion of time management on its head and all but throw it out. Instead of squeezing more into less time, it is all about thinking differently about what you do and when you do it.

If you’re like many people, the first thing you do when you get up in the morning is check email or Facebook, read the headlines, or flip on the television. This makes all the sense in the world. Lots may have happened overnight. You want to get a jump on battling your inbox. You don’t want to be surprised at work with a key story that you may have missed. The only problem is that by doing this, you rob yourself of the greatest time of the day for creativity, when your mind is fresh and rested and when the day is an open road of possibility. Rather than communicate or consume information, therefore, follow Blake’s advice and when you wake up, think.

What does this actually mean? Well for me, it has come to mean to practice meditation. This may sound intimidating or worse. Many people think of meditation as trying to achieve a transcendental state. If you’ve tried it and didn’t immediately feel a certain way then you may have concluded it didn’t work. It just wasn't for you. But it turns out that most people don’t understand what meditation is, much less how to do it. It is actually as simple as it is powerful. Ten years ago Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote a gorgeous and approachable book, Wherever you Go There You Are; Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. He says that meditation is not about having to feel a certain way. Rather, “It’s about feeling the way you feel. Not about making the mind empty or still, but about letting the mind be as it is.” The key vehicle to achieving this is breathing. All you have to do is concentrate on your breath, allow yourself to feel whatever you feel, truly listen to the sounds and smell the aromas around you, and be aware – or mindful – about the sensations and thoughts that present themselves. He calls this “non-doing,” which is actually quite distinct from "doing nothing." It takes practice and cuts against the grain. But trust me, if I can do it, so can you.

I’ve found that committing to this early in the morning, with the stillness that comes from being up before dawn, for as short as five minutes (only five minutes!), can have a profound effect on my energy level, creativity, and ability to handle whatever comes my way. If you allow it, the five minutes comfortably grows to 15 or 20 minutes. From there I try and stretch and then exercise every morning. I know it takes enormous effort to organize your time in order to do this, especially if you are a student, have small children, are a working parent, or have a long commute. But if you try hard enough, I believe you will be able to find a way to make this work.

What about reading the news, you ask? Here, Ferris makes a controversial recommendation, to “cultivate a low information diet.” This is based on the notion that “most information is time-consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence.” The fact is that in today’s world, the news you need will generally find you. Rather than spend hours reading newspapers, websites, or social media (of course LinkedIn Influencer posts are the exception), talk to colleagues, friends, or even strangers about what is going on of importance or interest that day. If something is significant, you’ll hear about it and be able to act accordingly. You will be amazed how much time this saves and frees you up for more creative endeavors.

As to the other parts of Blake’s quote, my interpretation for 2014 is to work with focus and purpose on the most important, not necessarily the most urgent, matters each day, concentrating your efforts on whatever creates the most value in your work. This also means to resist the temptation, of which I am often guilty (mea culpa) of multitasking, whether in meetings, on conference calls, interacting with others, or while eating. And to use the evenings for reading, writing, watching films or a little television, and hopefully to have restful and restorative sleep (my goal, 50 hours a week).

Then you’ll be geared up and ready for the next day. Over time, I think you may be surprised at just how capable you are of taking control of your life and of achieving greater results in the same amount of time or even less.