Every Friday, we’ll be posting short and quick business stories, tips and resources that have helped us grow Inspiralized. The series will be called #InspiralizedBoss and we hope they inspire others!
FROM THE DESK OF ALI MAFFUCCI, FOUNDER, INSPIRALIZED:
Whenever you read stories about successful entrepreneurs and their daily schedules, 9 times out of 10, their mornings begin at the crack of dawn – or before! I’m always amazed by it – the 4am wakeup call or the boss that makes it to the 5am spin class and then is at their desk by 6am.
To be honest, it’s a bit intimidating! The thought of waking up before 6:00am alone terrifies me – let alone before 5am!
However, the more and more I read about business owners and what they do to make their dream a reality, the more and more I see that they harness the power of the early morning wakeup call. I’m instantly envious of the successful entrepreneur who gets their workout done and Inbox cleared by 7am. I want to be part of this elite group of super productive people who make use of every possible moment of the day!
This is the year that I become a morning person! I told myself that on January 1, 2016 and I’ve steadily worked on becoming an early riser. After all, those are the ones that catch the worm, right?!
Well, let’s get one thing straight: I’m not waking up at 4:45am to make any 5am spin classes. Instead, I have made one simple change that totally sets the pace for my work day and has profoundly impacted my productivity levels.
[bctt tweet=”I have made one simple change that totally sets the pace for my work day. #InspiralizedBoss via @Inspiralized”]
I wake up at 7am and I’m at my desk by 7:15am. In those 15 minutes, I wake up, kiss my husband, brush my teeth, wash my face, apply moisturizer, get dressed, and turn my computer on. By that time, the coffee is ready (I have a coffee machine with a timer – best wedding gift ever!) That time from 7:15 – 9am sets the pace for the rest of my day. If I snooze until 7:30/8 with Lu, I’m never as productive as those days when I wake up at 7am. On some days, I do wake up at 6am and make it to the gym – but those are only on the days when I have an evening commitment that will interfere with me making it to the gym.
Now 7am may not seem that early for those of you who work in corporate America, but remember – I work from home, so it’s a 5 second walk to work! It would be like you getting to your desk at 7:15am every day, over an hour before most of your team arrives, right?
So why does the 7:15am start make such a difference? During the next hour and a half, I start with the following: spend 30 minutes on personal stuff. As I read my coffee, I take personal time to read the news (just the Skimm if I’m in a rush) and all of my favorite blogs. I take this time for myself and then, throughout the day, I don’t get sidetracked, because I already satisfied that need to “procrastinate.”
After those initial 30 minutes (which sometimes also include tidying up the house or starting my laundry), I:
- Go over my to-do list from yesterday and tie up any loose ends
- Build and/or refine that day’s to-do list
- Schedule my priorities (a Marie Forleo trick!)
- Get through urgent and pending e-mails before the 9am-5pm-ers start flooding my Inbox
After that, I build a timeframe for the day that I try to stick to, ensuring that my priorities will be conquered first. By having that extra hour in your day, I’m able to better organize myself and set the pace for a more productive day.
For now, this one hour change is working for me. And who knows… maybe by next year, I’ll be waking up at 4:30am with the best of ’em!
What time do you wake up in the morning? When are you most productive during the day?
Thank you for tuning in, and I hope you learned something new from this week’s #InspiralizedBoss post.
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