How to Keep Your Day from Being Hijacked by…

By 7:00 AM I feel accomplished, energized, happy, and prepared for a great day!

Do you ever find your day getting hijacked by early morning emails, social media feeds, or mobile phone notifications? Do you tell yourself you’ll just take a quick look and when you raise your eyes, an hour or more has disappeared from your day? Yea, me too!

Technology provides us with instant and constant communications, available at our fingertips wherever we may be. If you’re like me, you take your phone to bed in case there’s an emergency and leave your tablet on the nightstand because you were looking at it last thing before going to sleep. You check the notifications that light up your phone during the night because it might be something important. Then when you wake up in the morning, before even getting out of bed, you look at all the growing numbers in red circles popping out from half the apps on your phone. ‘Dang’ you think, you better just check those emails quick.

I could go on about taking your phone into the bathroom and even the shower, but that’s gross and dangerous, and I’m pretty sure you get what I’m talking about already. We let technology mange us, run away with our precious time, and derail our best intentions.

I had to stop this dysfunctional consumption of and exposure to information and communication. I needed a better way to manage technology and set myself up for a productive day and I’m guessing you do too. So, back to my favorite pastime I went, reading self-help books, watching TED type talks, listening to podcasts, and searching the web. My creative juices were flowing and my slight obsession for planning and organizing ran wild. I tried all kinds of suggestions and routines, kept the pieces I liked, and dumped what didn’t work for me.

After months of testing and tweaking, I created the Magic Morning Mix of habits and routines that keep me on track for producing my best days. By 7:00 AM, I’ve completed important tasks, planned my day, been to the gym, followed my self-care routine, spent time writing, and enjoyed a cup of coffee. Yes, by 7:00 AM I feel accomplished, energized, happy, and prepared for a great day!

Let me save you the time of doing your own research and test driving dozens of methods. Below, I share my Magic Morning Mix. By following this routine, I stay focused on the truly important things in life, keep a positive mindset, am happy, and have the most accomplished days of my life!

My Magic Morning Mix:

• Get up to my 5:00 AM alarm – NO snoozing!
• Make my bed.
• Recite my affirmation and manifestation statements.
• Enjoy a cup of strong, black coffee while writing out my plan for the day including daily goal, top priorities, tasks, and block scheduling for work hours.
• Write in my gratitude journal.
• Meditate and visualization exercise.
• 30-minute boot camp with friends.

It’s now 7:00 AM and I feel awesome!!!

 

Did you note what is missing from this routine? Look again…I’ll wait. During these early morning hours, I use no technology, no electronics at all. I don’t turn on the television or any music. Okay, I use the alarm on my phone, but I only tap the ‘off’ button and move immediately to making my bed. I don’t check email, any notifications, or social feeds until later in the morning – after I’ve completed one hour of priority work in my office.

My Magic Morning Mix isn’t a stand-alone success tool for me; it’s part of a more in-depth life plan. I create and record monthly, quarterly, and annual goals for myself. I review what worked and what didn’t, then adjust strategies accordingly.

Yes, I admit it, I’m a planning, organizing, journaling junkie! But I look at it this way: I’ve experimented with so many tools and methods that I’ve been able to weed out the unnecessary details and pull together the most helpful bits and pieces to create a streamlined formula that keeps me focused, happy, and fulfilled.

Give my Magic Morning Mix a spin for yourself and see how these simple habits can change your life. Let me know what successes you achieve.

Get your FREE guide for myMagic Morning Mix here!