4 Ways to Have a More Productive Start to Your Day

Go From Manic Monday to a Money-Making Feel-Good Morning Routine

That darn alarm. It sounds signaling the start of Monday. The start of the business week. The start of insanity. You roll over and pretend like it’s not happening- the alarm, Monday, none of it.

Or you’re like me. A morning person. Even on vacation I revel in the peace of the early hours and glow of the rising sun.

Just like I think everyone can learn to write for their businesses, I know everyone, whether a self-proclaimed early bird or night owl, can learn to use just one hour of the morning to make a HUGE impact on their businesses’s bottom line and how the whole rest of the day rolls out.

I don’t know who said it first, but there’s a saying that says either you control your time or your time controls you.

When people want to know one of my success secrets or how I have time to run two businesses and a networking group and still have time to do anything else, I point to how my morning routine is critical in my productivity and sanity in trying to do all the things.

Someday is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you. -Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Work Week

We put off what should be done today for “someday.” I’ve been guilty too. No sugarcoating here, friends, but if you are going to run a successful business for the long-term, you have to learn to discipline your now- discipline of your time, talents, resources, and to engage self-care. Stewarding your time routines is a disciple that hits all four areas, as you will find your stress level and general mental state in a much better place to start your days to make better decisions for your business.

Let’s get to the good stuff! I’ve read lots of blogs like this about productive morning routines that are anything but simple, so first I’ll make a promise to you. I’m going to keep it simple. No complicated systems. My first directive to you to get your morning together is to get up at whatever time you need to to have an uninterrupted morning. So if your kids are up by 6:45 for school, you need to get up at 5:45. If you normally roll out of bed at 7am, get up at 6. If your mind has already started the, “But, I…,” you’re going to need to talk to your mindset. Find your hour and decide if need be to get into bed an hour earlier the night before. Don’t deplete your sleep. It’s so important to your health, wellness, and wealth!

Now you have your hour designated. I’m going to tell you exactly what I do in the hour I designate, and I think you can totally copy and paste my success routine into your morning.

1. First 5 minutes after waking up, do nothing. Yep. That’s easy, right!? I give myself 5 minutes either by hitting the snooze (set for 5 minutes) or giving myself the small bit of time to stretch in bed and open my eyes. I love mornings, but I’m not trying to jump out of bed like a pop-tart!
2. The next 25 minutes: I make my cup of coffee, and while it’s brewing, I drink a glass of lemon water and collagen. Cleanse. Strengthen. Caffinate! I grab my paper planner (I keep an agenda planner and a Google calendar). I’m going to suggest even if you keep all your scheduling on your phone to at least have a notebook designated for this part of your morning routine. Next I look over my schedule for the day, digest it, and I list:
   1. any calls I need to return.
   2. any follow-up actions I need to do.
   3. any opportunities I need to create- this could be asking someone for a virtual coffee or lunch date or following up a call or email.
   4. The last 5-10 minutes is either journaling, jotting ideas and brainstorms,  writing gratitude or most often for reading my latest business read.

What we are doing here is creating intention with our planned actions for the day in 3 simple steps.

What this part of my routine does is to help me prioritize people and opportunities following up while the “iron is still hot.” A long time ago, at a conference, I heard that 80% of a potential customer’s excitement dies off in 48 hours of whatever interaction sparked their interest. Whether that’s a hard fact or not, I must say I think it’s very true. This part of the morning routine ensures I don’t miss out on potential money or connections, because I was too slow on the uptake.

3. 15 minutes- Draft all emails and texts to return communication or make communications from the list above.                  Note that I said DRAFT. Why? It’s up to you, but as far as my business goes, it doesn’t open to my clients until                8am. I draft all the communications, so at 8 or a little after, I can go and click “send” in just seconds for them all.            It’s part of my boundaries system. My early time is for me not for opening the doors to business and their return            communications before I am good and ready.

4. 20 minutes- I eat breakfast, plan what I will eat for lunch, and fill up my water bottle. This way, I start my day                   well-nourished and ensure that I will put into my body later is not junk fueled by being rushed and making an                 impulsive decision based on my state of hangry. During this 20 minutes, I also give myself permission to putz                 around on my phone and social media. This part of the morning is the reward for the first 3 steps- getting out of             bed, making my lists, and making my communications. I will add this hour I talked about is not the time to plan               out social media posts for your business (unless you use the time of your last 20 minutes). Why? Because                     unless you are hardcore disciplined, you will likely fall down the rabbit hole of posts and web surfing and                         undermine your productivity. My social media planning is a whole other block I’ll blog about next week! Stay                   tuned!

That’s it! I promised you it would be super simple! You will be amazed by how staying disciplined with this morning routine will affect your bottom lines. When your communications to clients, contacts, and prospects are timely and your day begins with order and planning, it’s a natural by-product that you’ll make more money.

For another good read on getting your Monday started on the right track, click over to a 3 minute read https://genevamaresma.com/2020/08/03/chin-up-start-your-week-with-actions-that-create-optimism/.

Now you have time plans and some tools in your hand to get disciplined. Make a morning routine. Stick to it 5 days a week. The longer you do it, at some point, it just becomes automatic and you won’t think about it. I promise!

Dream Big and Shine On Sister!

Geneva