I
don’t know anyone who couldn’t use a little boost in their energy and
self-control.
Researchers at the University of
Nottingham recently published findings from their exploration of 83 separate
studies on energy and self-control. What they found will change the way you
start your day.
The researchers found that
self-control and energy are not only intricately linked but also finite, daily
resources that tire much like a muscle. Even though we don’t always realize it,
as the day goes on, we have increased difficulty exerting self-control and
focusing on our work. As self-control wears out, we feel tired and find tasks
to be more difficult and our mood sours.
This exhaustion of self-control
kills your productivity, and it makes the morning hours, when self-control is
highest, the most important hours of the day.
But the trick isn’t just to spend
your morning hours working; it’s to do the right things in the morning that
will make your energy and self-control last as long as possible.
“For
the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself:
‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to
do today?'” And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I
know I need to change something.” – Steve Jobs
The Nottingham research has led me
to uncover ways we can break bad habits in the morning and maximize our energy
and self-control throughout the day.
Whether you naturally wake up
feeling alert and productive or rise with the brainpower of a zombie, these
tips will help you transform your morning routine and set a positive tone that
lasts the entire day.
Start with exercise. Researchers at the University of Bristol found that
people who exercise during the workday have more energy and a more positive
outlook, which are both critical to getting things done. Getting your body
moving for as little as 10 minutes releases GABA, a neurotransmitter that makes
your brain feel soothed and keeps you in control of your impulses. Exercising
first thing in the morning ensures that you’ll have the time for it, and it
improves your self-control and energy levels all day long.
But drink some lemon water
first. Drinking lemon water as soon as you
wake up spikes your energy levels physically and mentally. Lemon water gives
you steady, natural energy that lasts the length of the day by improving
nutrient absorption in your stomach. You need to drink it first thing in the
morning (on an empty stomach) to ensure full absorption. You should also wait
15–30 minutes after drinking it before eating (perfect time to squeeze in some
exercise). Lemons are packed with nutrients; they’re chock full of potassium,
vitamin C, and antioxidants. If you’re under 150 pounds, drink the juice of
half a lemon (a full lemon if you’re over 150 pounds). Don’t drink the juice
without water because it’s hard on your teeth.
No screen time until breakfast. When you dive straight into e-mails, texts, and
Facebook, you lose focus and your morning succumbs to the wants and needs of
other people. It’s much healthier to take those precious first moments of the
day to do something relaxing that sets a calm, positive tone for your day.
Jumping right into electronics has the opposite effect—it’s a frantic way to
start your day. Exercising, meditating, or even watching the birds out the
window are all great ways to start the day.
Eat a real breakfast. Eating
anything at all for breakfast puts you ahead of a lot of people. People who eat
breakfast are less likely to be obese, they have more stable blood-sugar levels,
and they tend to be less hungry over the course of the day. And these are just
the statistics for people who eat any breakfast. When you eat a healthy breakfast, the doors to a productive day swing wide open. A
healthy breakfast gives you energy, improves your short-term memory, and helps
you to concentrate more intensely and for longer periods.
Set goals for the day. Research shows that having concrete goals
is correlated with huge increases in confidence and feelings of control.
Setting goals specific to the day puts everything into motion. Narrow your
goals down to a few achievable ones that can easily be broken down into steps.
Vague goals such as “I want to finish writing my article” are
counter-productive because they fail to include the “how” of things. The same
goal re-phrased in a more functional way would read something like this: “I am
going to finish my article by writing each of the three sections, spending no
more than an hour on each section.” Now, you have more than simply something you
want to achieve—you have a way to achieve it.
Getting your morning started off right at home
is important, but it’s only half the battle. If you fail to maintain that tone
once you set foot in the office, your morning can lose momentum quickly. Here’s
how you can maintain a productive tone once you hit the office:
First, clean your
workspace. Even though it’s a pain to clean
right when you get into work, it makes a big difference to your ability to
concentrate. A Princeton University study found that people who worked in a
clean workspace out-performed those who worked in a cluttered one because
clutter pulls your attention away from your work. In fact, the effects of
clutter on concentration are not all that different from the effects of
multi-tasking.
No e-mail until you've eaten
three frogs. “Eating a frog” is the
greatest antidote to procrastination, and the most productive people know the
importance of biting into this delicacy first thing in the morning. In other
words, spend your morning on something that requires a high level of
concentration that you don’t want to do, and you’ll get it done in short order.
Make a habit of eating three frogs before you check your e-mail because e-mail
is a major distraction that enables procrastination and wastes precious mental
energy.
“Eat
a live frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you
the rest of the day.” – Mark Twain
Keep morning meetings on
schedule. Meetings are the biggest time
waster there is, and they can ruin an otherwise productive morning. People who
use their mornings effectively know that a meeting will drag on forever if they
let it, so they inform everyone at the onset that they’ll stick to the intended
schedule. This sets a limit that motivates everyone to be more focused and
efficient. Keep your morning meetings on time, and your entire day will stay on
track.
Don’t multitask. Multi-tasking in the morning—when you have lots to do,
tons of energy, and it feels like you can do two or three things at once—is
tempting, but it sets your whole day back. Research conducted at Stanford
University confirmed that multitasking is less productive than doing a single
thing at a time. The researchers found that people who are regularly bombarded
with several streams of electronic information cannot pay attention, recall
information, or switch from one job to another as well as those who complete
one task at a time.
But what if some people have a
special gift for multitasking? The Stanford researchers compared groups of
people based on their tendency to multitask and their belief that it helps
their performance. They found that heavy multitaskers (those who multitask a
lot and feel that it boosts their performance) were actually worse at
multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time. The frequent
multitaskers performed worse because they had more trouble organizing their
thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information, and they were slower at
switching from one task to another. Ouch!
Multitasking reduces your efficiency
and performance because your brain can only focus adequately on one thing at a
time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to
perform both tasks successfully.
Finally, say no. No is a powerful word that will protect your precious
mornings. When it’s time to say no, avoid phrases such as “I don’t think I can”
or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing
commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them while
your mind is fresh. Research conducted at the University of California Berkeley
showed that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you
are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression. Learn to use no, and it
will lift your mood as well as your productivity.
Bringing
It All Together
The right morning routine can make
your day, every day. The trick is to be intentional about your mornings,
understanding that a.m. hours are precious and should be handled with care.
What do you do in the morning to start your
day off right? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, as I
learn just as much from you as you do from me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of
the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's
leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His
bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in
more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered
by, Newsweek, TIME, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes,
Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The
Harvard Business Review.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ten-tweaks-your-morning-routine-transform-entire-day-bradberry/
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