6 Steps to Set Yourself up For Productivity

Boost your productivity and achieve your goals through establishing a successful morning routine.

Step 1: Prepare For Your Perfect Mornings The Night Before

One of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting until the morning to begin planning their day.

Don’t make that same mistake. Plan your next day the night before.

Each night before you go to bed, spend a few minutes preparing your next day by completing the following:

1. A Brain dump: write down all your work-related thoughts on a piece of paper to help you reduce stress, organize your thoughts and clear your mind for relaxation.

2. A To-do list: write down the top three tasks you want to get accomplished tomorrow so you can get started immediately the next morning.

3. Outline of Action Steps: write down the action steps for your number one pri- ority the next day so you’ll know exactly what to do.

Not only does this help you sleep better, but you’ll get a quicker start come sunrise.

With your planning complete, you can now go home peaceful and prepared, and focus on quality time with your family, friends, health, and hobbies.

TIP: Do NOT think of these work to-dos after you leave the office. They’ll be waiting for you when you return the next day.

Step 2: Go To Bed On Time

To make sure you wake up early and have the energy you need to tackle your day, you need to go to bed on time (this means a reasonable hour that allows you to wake early and feel rested).

Too many productive mornings have gone to waste as a result of a bad night’s sleep. Go to bed too late, and your entire next day can be ruined.

In today’s always-connected world of artificial light and endless digital distractions, it can be harder to go to sleep early since we’ve become constantly distracted by notifications.

Going to bed on time is largely about resisting certain temptations. To go to bed on time (and make sure you fall asleep), just follow the 10-3-2-1-0 Formula:

? 10 hours before bed: no more caffeine

? 3 hours before bed: no more food or alcohol

? 2 hours before bed: no more work-related activities

? 1 hour before bed: no more screen time (turn off all phones, TVs and computers) ? 0: The number of times you’re allowed to hit the snooze button in the morning

Follow this formula and going to bed on time at night will be easy.

Step 3: Wake Up Early

Success is not about the hour you get up, it’s about what you do with the hours that you are up.

Still, our society is designed to secretly support those who learn to rise early. Think of rush hour traffic, and how those who left two hours before you probably got to breeze through the roads without frustration. Then those early risers get to leave work earlier, before the second rush-hour jam.

One of the easiest ways to get more done and make more time is to get up early.

If you’re a night owl, it’s well worth the process of adjusting your circadian rhythm to become an early riser, as time and time again it’s proven the early bird really does get the worm.

If you struggle waking up early, setting your alarm to two hours before your current waking time won’t do any good. Start with 15 minutes. Every day. Then before you know it, you’ll be an early riser, too, and have adjusted to the shift better to make for a lasting change.

Step 4: Cleanse, Centre, And Kickstart

Once you wake up, you immediately need to get ready to dominate your day.

First, you need to prepare your mind and body for the work that’s ahead. You do that

by implementing a Cleanse, Centre, and Kickstart routine.

? Cleanse: refresh your body in some way to reset yourself physically (like drinking water or taking essential nutrients)

? Centre: do something that rejuvenates you to reset yourself mentally (like meditating, or spending time with your dog)

? Kickstart: prime yourself for your biggest goals or to-dos for the day (like journaling, doing a gratitude exercise, or listening to a motivating song)

Combined, this Cleanse, Centre, and Kickstart routine should take you less than 30 minutes. Once you’re done, your brain, body, and heart are ready to move forward into the day and its challenges.

Step #5: Work On Your Biggest Priority In Life

Your single most important success principle is built around spending time early in your day on reaching your biggest goals. Brian Tracy, refers to this as “Eating that frog,” referencing the famous Mark Twain quote:

“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

Most people want to procrastinate and avoid doing the hard work on the tasks that will propel them forward the most. But instead of dwelling on the difficulty of a task, remind yourself of why you are doing it, and how it fits into the life you want to live. Then, this number one priority becomes a pleasure.

Whether it takes you a few hours or just 30 minutes - it’s time to eat that frog.

Step #6: Reward Yourself

Once you’ve had your first victory of the day, then you can reward yourself.

Have breakfast. Meditate. Take your dog for a walk. Read a book. Check social media (but not too long).

You’ve conquered your morning and had your first of many victories for the day. You’ve probably accomplished more in this morning than many people get done in their entire 9-5.

Reward yourself and enjoy it.

Credit to: Early to Rise, Perfect Day Guide Morning Routine.