Well turns out that making the best use of the morning is one trait that most successful people share. They get up early, work on projects, and take care of their own needs first while they still have a fresh batch of willpower. You know, before the boss, the kids, the commute, stress, and exhaustion beat it out of them by the time the evening arrives.
In her ebook, What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, Laura Vanderkam surveyed executives, creative types, and people who've learned to optimize their mornings to figure out how we could do the same. Along with research on willpower, she outlines a five-step process to start waking up earlier and squeezing in more productive hours into your day.
1. Track your time and make detailed note of how you spend your hours. This way you'll know where and how you're wasting time and start figuring out how to stop the leakage.
2. Picture how your perfect morning would go. Would you take some time to center yourself, meditate, or work on hobbies and side projects? Last week, I started going out for a quick jog and making time for a hearty breakfast before sitting down to do work. It shakes the sleep off quicker and gets my blood and mind churning.
3. Once you have your perfect morning in mind, think about what it'd take to make it happen. How many hours of sleep do you need in order to still wake up feeling rested? How much time will your new morning activities require?
4. Work towards slowly building this habit and shifting your schedule.
5. Make changes as necessary.
What would your perfect morning look like? Me, if I could wake up by 6 or 7 a.m. each day, I'd love to go out for a run, outline my day and freelance life, set up my blog posts, work on creative projects, and then worry about making money for somebody else.
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