Pack Post: My Top Five Tips to Getting Your Day Started for Max Productivity
Here’s the truth:
I’m not a morning person.
But you know what happens in the morning?
Most people work.
Which is a bummer, because I much prefer to do things like ski, hike, spin around in circles, and literally ANYTHING ELSE, that’s not in front of a computer screen.
Unfortunately, I also have really great clients and collaborators that are relying on me, so how do I get my butt up in the morning and get things done?
Permission for coffee: I literally tell myself that, when my alarm goes off, ALL I have to do is make myself coffee. I don’t have to think about my next steps, I don’t have to get dressed, I don’t have to do yoga...just, make the damn coffee Lauren. Usually, by the time the water boils, I’ve forgotten about my bed and am instead trying to artfully take photos of my French Press. And I’m up!
Write down 5 things. Okay, this usually happens the night before, but I give myself a REALLY EASY list of five things to do in the morning. Usually, it’s like “Send an invoice” or “Write a social media post” or “Send an email” or “Wash dishes”. If I can get five things done in 10 minutes, it makes me feel like I can take on the world!
Check the calendar. Ain’t nothing worse than getting notifications about meetings or phone calls and not being prepared AT ALL. Get thee eyes on the calendar, preferably after coffee, so you can make a plan of attack for the day.
Play my “get fired up” song. This is ridiculous, but before I sit down to work, I always play the same hype song so that my brain ready to sit down and work.
Get dressed. I’m ALL about working in my pajamas, but I notice a marked difference in my day when I get dressed vs. when I stay in my pajamas. Even if I just put yoga pants on and a long sweater, I feel like I’ve “gone to work” when my hair is brushed and my contacts are in.
- Lauren Caselli