Do one thing well every morning.

When you go to a hotel, or stay in an AirBnB, you would expect to arrive to a crisp and clean bed, properly made and looking pristine. If the bed isn't made and isn't comfortable it would set you up for the wrong start to your stay, that first impression would affect your overall experience.

Let's be honest though, at home how many of you leave your bed however it was when you got out of it, then at the end of the day just drag the duvet over you? The sheet gets a bit untucked, and the pillows and duvet aren't quite right, but who cares, your tired and ready to sleep.

Many years ago it was explained to me why in the military, part of basic training is the morning ritual of making your bed, complete with military corners, squared away sheet and pillows. And the importance of taking pride and care over this seemingly simple and pointless task.

It was explained to me that it's about taking care over the little things, paying attention to details, and taking pride in getting those details right. After all, those little things all add up to big things, and if you are sloppy or inattentive on simple tasks, then how do you expect to get the important ones right.

At the time it stuck with me, and for a number of years I actually did this, but then for whatever reason it stopped being something I focussed on doing. I can't say why, probably a collection of things that were more important to me at the time.

In 2018 I was made redundant, a massive thunderbolt out of the blue with no warning! At the time I was panicked, then worried, then angry, at my feelings of uselessness as I felt powerless to sort the things I needed to be able to sort, like paying the mortgage, finding a new job (I wasn't even sure what I wanted to do). I probably spent the first 2 months after redundancy wallowing, achieving nothing and feeling like everything was a waste of time and would probably go wrong anyway. I very definitely didn't care about the little things and simple tasks.

A chance conversation with an old friend led to an honest discussion about how they had felt similar in the past, in a very different situation to mine in some respects, but also similar, as they were coming out of the army and really lost to what to do next as they didn't feel their skills or experience would be valued in the civilian world. That friend talked about how it took them several months, but that eventually focussing on simple things, "small wins" as they put it, really helped to change their mindset and get them on the road to action to turn around their situation.

They shared the below video with me, a snippet from a speech given by an ex navy seal, now admiral in the US Navy, to Texas university students.

The speech reminded me of my conversation years before, also with a military officer, but whose take on the "make your bed" was quite different. That early conversation focussed on the negative aspect of if you cant even do this right, how can you do bigger, more important things right, setting a mindset of needing to do it so as not to fail.

Admiral McRaven instead focuses on the importance of making your bed as completing that first simple task, and doing it successfully, putting you in the mindset of success that will hopefully help you to succeed for the rest of the day. And even if everything else goes wrong, you still have a well made bed to sleep in at the end of the day.

I now make my bed every morning!

The Lesson

Having the right mindset is important. Succeed once and you will be mentally prepared to succeed again, and again, and again. That's why starting the day well tends to impact how we feel all day, how we engage with others, and how productive we are.

In recruitment setbacks are around every corner, we work in an industry with so many variables and unknowns that can take a great day to a miserable one very quickly, so starting the day with that positivity of a task already successfully completed is worth the small effort.

It doesn't have to be making your bed, though I would say try it for a week, and see how it affects your day. It could be a simple task you do every morning before work, or to start your work day. Walking the dog, writing a social media post, watching a TED talk, whatever works for you. Try making the bed though, you might be surprised how it changes your morning.