Here are 5 things we do wrong in the morning.
#1. We allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed with things we need to do.
You’re probably familiar with this scenario. It feels like just seconds ago your head hit the pillow, yet your alarm is ringing and you force yourself to open your eyes. As soon as that happens, right on cue your brain speeds up with thoughts, deadlines, must do’s. You get up from bed, go brush your teeth, and the brain continues at the same breakneck speed. You’re exhausted but the day hasn’t even really begun.
Idea for change: How about starting the day with one simple question: What is the ONE THING I am committed to completing today?
- Focusing on the “one thing” keeps things simple, it helps your brain focus better, it makes you prioritize your goals (for work or study), and it streamlines your work so you don’t feel overwhelmed with having to accomplish too many things in a single day.
- It’s easy to incorporate into your morning. First, write the question down on a sheet of paper and hang it on your bedroom or bathroom wall. Then, read it out loud as you start each day (for example, while brushing your teeth or getting dressed), and come up with an answer on the spot. Make that answer your top priority for what’s the most important thing you should focus on.
Adding breakfast to the mix when we feel rushed in the morning doesn’t sound like something we’re willing to waste time on. It becomes yet another decision to make, and our stash of willpower reserves is already getting depleted by figuring out what needs to get done and in what order.
Idea for change: What about preparing a 5-minute breakfast to give you energy for the day?
- Eating breakfast really does help to wake up your entire system. Also, if you pick something healthy and tasty, chances are greater you will make the habit stick. Extra points if you prep something that’s also nice to look at — a habit is easier to keep if we give ourselves a sensory boost to make the ritual more pleasant and something to look forward to.
- Easy breakfast options do exist. Some of my breakfast favorites include (a) a bowl of oatmeal with flaxseeds and chia seeds, blended with some peanut butter, and (b) Greek yogurt with granola. The most important part is adding fresh fruit to either option: strawberries, figs, banana, coconut, grapefruit, persimmon, apple, apricots, mango, peaches, or papaya. I also add walnuts and almonds because they’re excellent brain food.
#3. We waste the morning on unimportant things.
Many of us go straight to the news: watching them on TV, listening to them on the radio, going on YouTube, scrolling through Twitter. Being up to date on world events, especially during such a turbulent time in this year of 2020, is important. But, maybe there’s a better time to consume news and social media.
Idea for change: What about leaving social media and news for later in the day?
- Turn off all notifications on your mobile phone. There's no need to always be “on” and monitor every single update on all your phone apps. Leave the phone until you have time to read what's interesting, especially after you're done with your most important work of the day.
- Check email and social media apps 2–3 times a day. Try doing this around midday, later in the afternoon, and evening. Schedule this time in — do it during your lunch break, for example, or when you have a cup of coffee. Set a timer so you don’t spend an hour on it.
- Close all tabs in your browser on the computer. Whenever you have multiple websites a fingertip away, you're more likely to take a peek. Create a clean, distraction-free zone on your desktop instead.
#4. We don’t focus on the important stuff.
There’s the chaos of getting ready, eating breakfast, starting the day — and all that is mostly time management. The chaos doesn’t really give us time to consider what to focus on, and what’s relevant to our short and long-term goals.
Idea for change: How about using your morning hours to do deep work?
- Deep work is the focused, uninterrupted, analytical thinking that requires you to be in the “flow” so that you concentrate on what’s right in front of you and nothing else. Some examples of deep work are reading, writing, condensing complex material into outlines and notes, coding, analyzing, critical thinking, and problem solving.
- According to scientists the brain’s peak performance happens 2-4 hoursafter we wake up. In other words, when you do deep work early you can tune into your body’s biological clock, so that you take advantage of your focus to solve complex problems and think more deeply. Plus, when you get that tough cognitive work out of the way, you’ll feel more accomplished and will likely have plenty of time to relax later.
#5. We miss the opportunity to be selective about how to feed our brain.
While we’re busy ingesting all the new information coming our way — from emails to text messages to the actual projects we’re working on — we’re merely reacting to the world as it’s unraveling each day. This puts us in passive mode, as if we are merely spectators to what’s happening to, and around us.
Idea for change: What if we intentionally select what we will expose our brain to?
- If you’re stressed or anxious, you can use the Headspace app to do a mindful 5-minute meditation before you get out of bed.
- If you prefer listening to something (rather than watching), you can queue up a few podcasts on an interesting topic and listen to them while you are getting dressed or eating breakfast.
- If you don’t have time to read books like you used to, you might consider waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual and reading a chapter or two before the busy day begins.
I would like to credit Nela Canovic, Growth mindset hacker, writer, Silicon Valley entrepreneur for this wonderful article
