How you start your day sets the tone for the rest of your hours. This is something I get asked about a lot. I live a pretty busy lifestyle with being a mom, a wife, a Mimi of two (my favorite job!), and of course, working on SHOP.COM, Motives, blogging, writing, traveling…the list goes on and on. But I love it and I wouldn’t have it any other way – truly. However, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t take lots of discipline and organization to make each day count as much as possible. In fact, I chock it up to the very small details – the tiny moments throughout the day – that can really make it flow. I talked a little about this recently during my visit to The Andrew Weissman Show, so I thought I’d break this down a little more for everyone. Here are some of the things that really help me make my day more fluid and productive. I hope they help you, too!
8 Ways to Make Your Day More Productive
- Wake up early – This is a biggie. You won’t get your groove or get anything done if you feel like you’re always trying to catch up to your day. You need to run your day, not the other way around.
- Take a moment to reflect – Before you even get out of bed, reflect for a moment. Put your head in the right place. Think about what you hope your day will be like and what you’d like to accomplish. Focus and put your positive thoughts into play.
- Make your bed – Seriously. If you get up and make your bed, you’ll already feel like you’ve accomplished something and are more likely to keep a positive attitude going. You’ll feel ready to take on the next task if this small one is already done.
- Exercise – Even if it’s just for 20 minutes, get your body going and feeling great. You can try yoga to stretch you out or go for a morning run before getting on with the day’s activities. Just give yourself a few minutes to wake up your body and your mind before moving on to anything else.
- Get organized – Put together a list of tasks to accomplish throughout the day. Get your calendar in check. Make sure your schedule reads how you want it to. And know what you want to do, wear, and accomplish before you step foot out of your house.
- Do the hardest thing first – This is also major. If you start with the hardest task of the day, the rest of the day will unfold much more easily. This will also help you avoid procrastinating or taking longer to accomplish any other tasks. Just get it done and out of the way. Then move on.
- Take a break now and then – You need to re-energize so don’t underestimate the power of a 15 minute break, whether it’s to meditate, relax or just catch up on news. Give your brain a rest.
- Schedule time for family and fun – You need to respect your time and that includes personal and family time. Schedule time for family nights, date nights with your spouse, and (very important) some ME time. If you don’t take care of yourself. You won’t be able to take care of anyone else. So make yourself a priority.
Do you have routines and rituals to make your busy days less hectic? How do you get through the day?
