Steps To Conquer The Overwhelm Of Your Mornings

Post by Social Media Strategist Robbi Hess

As a business owner how do you greet your mornings? Do you look at them as a way to jump into a new, fresh day and face exciting challenges ahead? Do you glare at the alarm clock, willing it to stop its noise and just let you continue to sleep?

There are steps I've found to help me conquer the overwhelm of mornings and I'd like to share them with you because as a #manufacturing professional you need to be at your best and greet the daily to-dos as a

way to really make your plant shine:

1. Plan your next day prior to leaving the office at the end of the day. This can prevent you being jolted awake in the middle of the night making a laundry list of things you didn't accomplish as compared to the things you have yet to accomplish. Action step: Write a to-do list for the following day before I close the door on my home office. If I wake up in the middle of the night and realize I left something off — even though it may not be earth shattering — I will jot it down on the sticky note I keep next to my bed; it helps quiet the gremlins.
2. When are you most creative/productive? Once you know that you can harness the power of that time of the day to tackle tasks that are daunting or those that simply drain your energy. I know that I am most productive first thing in the morning so that is when I write blog posts, plan social media updates and work on my book. I slow down, mentally, in the afternoon and that is when I do tasks that don’t require high levels of creativity. In the afternoons I, make follow up calls, work on editorial calendars, work on anything I have to do that is on a spreadsheet! Action step: Take a few days this week to see when you feel the most creative, inspired and mentally alert. Plan your most mind-challenging tasks for that time of the day and use your off-peak times to do repetitive tasks.
3. Take a break from tech. Technology is not always your friend and even though it is hard, I try not to check email until I have been working for at least an hour. I avoid checking social media or emails until after I've had my breakfast. I heard a statistic recently that 80% of all people check email and social media while in the bathroom! Really? You need some "me" time that does not have you tethered to tech. Action step: Trust me, this isn’t an easy one to do, but do not open your email or check your phone until you’ve had your breakfast or your coffee or taken the dogs for a walk. If you find your most creative time is first thing in the morning, push that time of not checking email back an hour or so. Chances are, there is nothing so pressing that you’re not looking at your email until 10 am will be the end of the world.

Getting a morning routine in place -- whether it's taking a walk, reading a newspaper, catching up on your favorite television show -- will help you meet your day with a smile and help you be more productive. What morning routines do you embrace?