6 STEPS THAT ULTIMATELY FREE YOUR ENERGY AND RELEASE TIME

SHORT ANSWER - Join the 4.30 AM Club for 10X Productivity

LONG ANSWER - Read on...

Well, initially, this happened more out of a desperate need than a conscious decision. And, honestly, I don’t wish anyone else goes through it as I did during those days. I simply had to wake up at 4.30 in the morning, because, otherwise there weren’t enough hours in the day to complete everything I had to do. After all, I was doing double shifts — being a mom and a dad, and as if that wasn’t enough, I had the writers’ bug early on. But during those maddening days, I was running on a treadmill.

So, I got up at 4, started my freelance writing, and did it till 8 when the school run began. Then came rigorous housework for another couple of hours, and back to freelancing. I had an insane number of low-paying projects with clashing deadlines, and I worked day in and day out because I needed the money. I wasn’t making much money, though.

My toddler needed to be taken care of, so most of my day was spent adjusting work around her sleep. This way, I burnt myself out by 8 pm and crashed, but the next day I was back on the mill again. Eventually, I would have burned out completely, but I was lucky to?step off that treadmill.

Waking up at 4 am eventually became a conscious habit, and it has led to enormous personal growth and professional inroads. I now know how to harness the power of the morning hours and create momentum for the day. And I want to share my routine here. It is something that I do, but of course, others would have their own best practices, morning routines, and mantras.

6 STEPS THAT ULTIMATELY FREE YOUR ENERGY AND RELEASE TIME

1. Inner Conversation

I start by saying a few random prayers — these are not really articulate or based on any visualization techniques. Just some conversation with god or myself — about my long-term goals. Some recounting of achievements with gratitude, and some intention of how I want to move ahead in life. Some anger and accusations for missed chances also seep into this conversation, but I try to keep it positive. This probably goes on for the first 20 minutes of waking.

2. Working Meditation

Next, I get off bed and after my ablutions, I spend about 20 minutes in the kitchen cooking for the strays of my locality and brewing my own tea. This is a time of complete lack of thought. A mind that is totally blank. You can call it meditation. Some people sit and do it in a secluded spot, I can somehow get into that state while I am preparing this distribution food. It works for me well enough, as now I start with a blank slate.

3. Tactical Planning

The next half hour is spent minutely planning my day. I plan the hours and minutes I need to spend on each task. I keep only 1 large chunk of work as a priority for the day and assign it 3–4 hours of deep work. I keep another 1–2 hours for catching up on clients and applying for work.

4. Moving My Body

For the next two hours, some actual execution starts. I walk my dogs, and I walk my kid to school. Then I go to the gym and let the trainer try to separate my body from my soul. Charged with adrenaline and probably dopamine, I know I am unstoppable. I have already won the day.

5.?Deep Work

When I work, I work. I shut off myself from the outside world — which means, literally shutting myself in my office room, not allowing anyone to enter, knock or call me for at least 4 hours at a stretch. I usually don’t take short breaks. But then, after the 4 hours, I am done with the most paying work. I have also got deep satisfaction for having done it and boosted my confidence. I can also allow myself to move on to do things for my future, and not worry about any pending work for today.

6.?Future-Focused Hours

In the next stretch, I spend an hour thinking up new ways of earning, or new revenue streams. For example, I am currently working on converting my blogs into an e-book and selling them on Amazon. I also spend a couple of hours on my fiction and creative writing. I am already in the final stages of editing my second full-length crime thriller novel — which is something I write as a hobby, but, I expect to start marketing it soon, too.

This brings the rear end of my day up, which feels fulfilling and energizing. By evening, I am usually free to spend time with my two dogs and kid or watch TV which is a guilty pleasure I don’t want to quit yet.

I also have a bit of a night routine, where I switch off my phone (and often enrage a lot of people who are trying to reach me) but more about it in my next post.

That’s all folks for now! Do share your own morning routine and let me know how it has helped you.

See you all soon!

Originally published on medium: https://medium.com/@ghazalarizvi/the-4-30-am-club-for-10x-productivity-d1534b6a5a6

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#deepwork