Routine is King: Start your Day the RIGHT Way
Working from home is a gift and a curse. While it’s great to get to set up your own space, take the breaks you need, and wear whatever shoes you want, the temptation to roll right out of bed and slink to your computer in your pajamas is pretty alluring, especially if you’ve had a late night the day before. Making the most of your work from home routine isn’t always easy, especially for those of us who are perhaps still adjusting to the home office versus the camaraderie and rhythm of a more traditional work space.
One thing I’ve found particularly useful for getting my mind and body ready for the day ahead is a repeatable, habitual morning routine. My current routine isn’t one I developed overnight. Like my workday warm up, it’s something that came to be over time. And honestly, it’s still evolving and fluid. But that doesn’t mean it’s haphazard or unreliable.
Developing a routine that works for you will ensure you’re more successful in the long run. It’s much more productive to create your own processes based on what works for other high achievers than to simply copy what others are doing.
In a nutshell...
Like we’ve talked about with time blocking and the work day warm up, in general, productivity strategies stem from the idea (and science backs this up) that humans are creatures of habit. We have control over the habits we create and those habits, in turn, create the humans we become long-term.
So, in order to be successful, we create habits that set us up for success. This starts from the moment you wake up. And - spoiler alert - rolling out of your bed and slinking to your workspace in pajamas? Not gonna set you up for a successful, enjoyable, or productive day.
So let’s look at what you actually need each morning.
What You Need
A good night’s sleep. In order to start your day right, you need to be well rested. This isn’t easy for everyone. “Not a morning person by nature? While natural circadian rhythms certainly impact how energetic you feel in the morning, getting to bed earlier and instituting an enjoyable morning routine may make mornings a little more palatable” (Demers, 2015).
Clear expectations. When creating a morning routine for yourself, you need to know what you want. How can we succeed without knowing what we’re working to accomplish? Jason Demers at Inc.com puts it succinctly: “People who have a strong internal locus of control believe and expect that they have control over their own destiny. Starting the day with an expectation that what you do matters will give you the best chance of getting off to a productive start” (Demers, 2015).
What You Do
Be willing to start imperfectly and adjust as you go. This is very much a “building the plane while flying it” situation. Quick, write a list of three things you want to do each morning. What gets you energized? What makes you feel ready to tackle tough work situations? What readies your body to sit at a desk for an extended amount of time?
If you’re stumped about where to start, consider these options:
Walk around the block or a morning jog
Short meditation/prayer/time of stillness
Steamy shower (or a cold blast if that’s your jam)
Protein-packed breakfast
Inspiring podcast
Journalling
Things I’ve Learned
I’ve been developing and tweaking my morning routine for a couple of years now. And yes, I’ll show you a little bit of it here soon. But here are a few things I’ve learned that help keep me on track and successful.
Morning Routine and Work Warm Up are SEPARATE! These two things have to be separate for me. I don’t start my work warm up until my morning routine is complete. This means I have separate start up times for myself and my work life. The morning routine is all about me and my health and what I need to succeed. It’s a totally separate entity from my work life, even though it helps me be more productive during my work day.
I need help. I can’t remember all the things I want to do on my own. This just makes me stressed and then I can’t run on autopilot. I found it’s easiest to use an app that reminds me of each step of my plan so I’m not having to constantly refer to a list or remember what I planned. There are a lot of apps that do similar things, but I use Fabulous: Daily Motivation & Habit Tracker. It’s synced with my alarm and gives me each step of my routine so I can check off as I go and not think about what’s coming next. (This isn’t a paid promotion or affiliate link, I just like the app.)
Start slow. While I consider myself a high energy person who’s got a go-getter personality, I don’t wake up that way. I need each day to start slow, calm, and quiet. I start with meditation, a little prayer, and some affirmations. I review my sleep statistics so I can know whether or not my sleep patterns will affect my productivity throughout the day.
Get Moving. I also know I’ve got to get moving each morning to get my body ready for the “long sit” at my desk throughout the day. And this isn’t just me. It’s important to “build in set times during the week for taking a walk or going to the gym. Getting your blood pumping could be just what's needed to clear your head and get your focus back” (Rampton, 2015). Whether or not you get moving first thing in the morning is irrelevant, but using our bodies for something other than desk sitting is definitely going to help with general health as well as productivity. Notice too that I don’t have a ton of time set aside for working out. Even just a few minutes is good!
Overall, the goal is to work with your body and your personality, not against it. Don’t forget that “every person and every workday is different. While we may be able to develop new strategies and habits that work for us most of the time, our jobs and lives will always throw us curve balls that lead to less-than-perfect results. We need to accept this imperfect reality, forgive ourselves and try again tomorrow” (Korkki). So start your day the way that’s best for you. Then do it again and again and again.
Leave thoughts and comments below -- I’ll always respond!
Sources:
Demers, Jason. 2015. Inc. https://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/9-secrets-of-a-productive-morning-routine.html.
Korkki, Phyllis. NYTimes. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/business/how-to-improve-your-productivity-at-work.
Rampton, John. 2015. Inc. https://www.inc.com/john-rampton/15-ways-to-increase-productivity-at-work.html.
Have you joined our mailing list yet?
No?! Don’t worry, we’ll get you caught up on all the latest posts, advice, and personal tales from Keril by joining our weekly newsletter below.
PLUS, we’ll send you Keril’s FREE streamlined checklist when you sign up!
It's time to wrap up our Q2 blog series on productivity! These past three months have FLOWN by. Summer is in full swing and I'm feeling more productive than ever. I'm less stressed and taking better care of myself physically and mentally. AND I'm still hitting those numbers and closing deals like wildfire. Woohoo!