5 Productivity Jump Starts for the Morning

In my last article I talked about productivity pitfalls. But there are things I can do to give myself a leg up on productivity. I don’t always do them, but I find that when I don’t, the day doesn’t run as smoothly. So these are my productivity jump starts  – the things that spark me into action.

Morning Routine

I am not a morning person. I wake up only with light, and copious amounts of caffeine. It doesn’t matter how much sleep I get, the wake up state is still the same. In fact, my first block students learned quickly that if I stopped talking and started looking around, someone better find my coffee quickly.

That being said, I value my morning routine. I started doing one after reading The Miracle Morning* by Hal Elrod. But there are aspects of my morning routine that are more critical to my daily productivity than others.

1. Stretching

I want to state here that I am categorically not the exercise in the morning type of person. And every time I have taken a yoga class I have ended up lightheaded and dizzy.

However…

I was looking for some gentle stretching, and I found an app called 5 minute yoga. It takes me through 5 different poses each day and gives me a timer to let me know when to move on.

I like doing these stretches. I feel more awake, and ready to tackle the day. Not doing them makes me feel like returning to bed.

Plus my cat will do the stretches with me. He does a mean downward dog.

2. Reading Non-fiction

I can’t read fiction in the morning, or I will not get ready at all. But reading two screens on my iPad Kindle of non-fiction will get me thinking. It’s kind of a stretching the brain in the morning.

I like reading non-fiction in the morning because I feel like I’ve accomplished something real; plus I get more non-fiction read as a result of this action.

I’ve read some great books over the last year, including books on creativity, science, mythology, writing, and business intelligence (although that last one was a bit much to take in while half-asleep).

3. Quiet

Quiet is important to me. I am an introverted introvert, and I need time alone in order to get my head on straight. Getting up before the rest of the family provides me with this quiet. I find that when the quiet is interrupted, such as on weekends, my overall productivity during the day suffers because I have been distracted during my quiet time.

I like the quiet because I can hear myself think, and it doesn’t matter if the neurons aren’t firing at a rapid rate. I get to notice things around me: the other morning I got to see a pileated woodpecker on a tree in my backyard. I feel like I connect with the day and the world around me before pelting headfirst into the busyness.

4. Visualizing the Day Ahead

I have started drawing out a simple visualization of the day ahead. It’s a two line box, each line divided into 12 squares and numbered. I then color the squares in to indicate what time is spoken for that day.

This simple picture gives me an idea of what time I have to get things done far better than a calendar. It lets me plan for what I will do – and sometimes that means I will do things before I get ready for the day, like watering plants.

5. Comics

I have read the comics in the morning since I was a young child. My father got the Milwaukee Sentinel delivered every monring (even though we didn’t live in Milwaukee). The comics page was my domain. And on Sundays I would be up waiting for our paperboy JJ to slip the paper in the front door.

We no longer subscribe to a print newspaper. But I do read the comics every morning through two apps on my phone. It’s the first thing I do after pouring a cup of coffee.

Reading those comics gives me a bit of time to wake up, and anchors me to the day. From long habit, it is the task that signals to me that the day is about to start. If I skip it, I feel odd the rest of the day.

Conclusion

These are the little things I do to get my productivity game on. These productivity jump starts are just little sparks that keep me moving forward while at the same time grounding me and giving me a place from which to start the day.

Image by paul bica. Licensed under Creative Commons. Text added.