2998: 9 Morning Habits That Are Doable and Day-Improving by Sarah Von Bargen of Yes and Yes on Creating a Morning Routine

[00:00:00] Time for strong performance with the new Galaxy Watch Ultra. No matter if you're a sportsman, a sportsman, a sportsman or a sportsman, and no matter if you're a jogger, a marathon runner, who wants to dance through the night or go on tour in France.

[00:00:19] Get the best out of here with the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra with Galaxy AI. Let's go! This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 2998, 9 Morning Habits That Are Doable and Day-Improving by Sarah Von Bargen of YesandYes.org and I'm Justin Malik, your very own personal narrator.

[00:00:40] I read to you every day covering productivity, minimalism, personal development, all that fun stuff. So with that, let's get right to another article as we optimize your life. 9 Morning Habits That Are Doable and Day-Improving by Sarah Von Bargen of YesandYes.org

[00:01:04] Picture this, it's any given Tuesday and you stretch yourself awake, nestled between clean, high thread count sheets. You bat downstairs and tuck into a delicious nourishing breakfast. You meditate, you journal, you put on a lovely well planned outfit

[00:01:22] before opening your laptop to begin a day of creative, fulfilling, productive work. Is that what your mornings look like? Weird me neither. But I sure wish they did and this year I'm doing my day list to get closer to a morning like that. Why?

[00:01:39] Because I've discovered that the first 10 minutes of any portion of my day, my morning after lunch after I close my laptop, set the tone for everything else. When you start the day right, the rest of it is more likely to fall into place.

[00:01:55] You want better business mornings too? Here's what I'm doing. 9 Morning Habits That Are Doable and Day-Improving. Don't worry, you don't have to do all 9. Number 1. Have enough time in your morning that you can actually have a few morning habits. Well obviously right.

[00:02:14] It's hard to create a morning that sets you up for a productive, creative, intentional day if you get out of bed and rush out the door. If you work for yourself, could you move all your meetings later in the day?

[00:02:27] If you work a 9-5, could you come in later or spend a few mornings working from home? Barring that, I'm going to make the terribly predictable and unfun suggestion that you go to bed earlier so that you can get up earlier. Yes, it's boring.

[00:02:43] It'll also make your life a lot better. We use a Dawn Simulator alarm clock and I recommend it to everyone I know. Number 2. Set some extremely doable goals for yourself. Fun fact, you do not have to fill the entire page with goals.

[00:03:00] You can choose like three things and when you're finished with them, then you get to relax. Of course if you're only setting three goals for yourself each day, they should be large-ish goals, not do laundry, walk the dog, send one email. A few other goal setting tips.

[00:03:18] Use verbs when you write out your goals, not blog post, but write blog post. Not closet, but purge closet like a Marie Kondo tornado of productivity and minimalism. I like to include one fun thing on Everyday's To Do List because left to my own devices,

[00:03:37] I work down to a shaking, angry version of myself. Fun things include getting a pedicure, working from a new coffee shop, poking around a thrift store, having lunch with a friend, or going to the beach.

[00:03:52] If you really want to dork out, you can title your To Do List a Can Do List. This is both A slightly more inspiring and B less demoralizing when or if you don't complete everything on it.

[00:04:06] It's stuff you can do if you have the time and energy, not stuff you're required to do to maintain your value as a human. Number three, choose a time when you'll check email and don't check it before then.

[00:04:21] I'm sure you've heard this advice elsewhere but it's good advice so I'm telling you again. Our inboxes are filled with other people's agendas, people asking us for information, favors, help and hookups. Which is fine and nice even but as soon as we check email we're in reactive mode.

[00:04:41] We're prioritizing other people's needs over our own work and projects. Sometimes this is the reality of business. I wouldn't be very successful if I ignored my students, my clients or my VAs but as soon as I click that login button I'm essentially saying

[00:04:59] I don't care about that thing I was working on, I'm ready to fall into a hole of distraction. In a perfect world I don't check email or social media till 11 or 12 every day.

[00:05:10] I'm not perfect and I don't do it every day but when I do I'm floored by how much I can accomplish and how calm I feel. Number four, focus on your breathing or meditate or just zone out dude.

[00:05:26] Perfect me meditates in a patch of sunlight for 20 minutes every morning. Real life me stares out the window while she drinks one cup of decaf. I'm calling it good enough. Science agrees, quieting our minds is good for our health, our creativity, our productivity and our relationships.

[00:05:46] Guided meditation is a good place to start and the calm app is free and lovely. Or we can focus on our breath or we can just sit on the sofa, pet the dog, drink coffee and do nothing else.

[00:05:59] That last one probably isn't quite as transformative as the former but it's better than nothing and it works for me. Find something that works for you. Number five, take your breakfast seriously. And yes you need to be eating breakfast.

[00:06:15] When I say take breakfast seriously I don't necessarily mean spend 45 minutes making waffles every morning though that is indeed both awesome and serious. What I mean is treat breakfast like an actual meal, eat it sitting down on a plate at a table.

[00:06:32] If you're feeling ambitious put it on a placemat and pull out a napkin. When I was mapping out what makes me happy I realized that eating beautiful meals brings me inordinate amounts of joy. So now I spend the extra 10 seconds to sprinkle cocoa onto my oatmeal

[00:06:49] or chop some chives for my eggs. Fancy. Number six, move your body in some way. You knew this was coming. This doesn't have to be rigorous cardio it could be a two-block walk with the dog,

[00:07:03] five minutes of stretching, a 10 minute YouTube yoga video or dancing around to two songs. Any type of movement helps us wake up, focus and separate the sleepy horizontal part of our day from the keyboard business part of our day.

[00:07:21] Number seven, do something that makes you feel like you have your ish together. I like starting my work day feeling like an adult. I want to feel like someone who can be trusted to meet deadlines and bring amazing ideas to fruition.

[00:07:35] It's harder to feel this way when I'm wearing pajamas and working from my couch. Different things make different people feel together. Maybe it's putting on a real outfit and doing your hair. Maybe it's washing your breakfast dishes. Maybe it's making your bed and clearing off your desk.

[00:07:52] Find something that makes you feel on top of it and make it part of your morning. Number eight, have a I'm getting serious now ritual. One of my work from home friends puts on her coat and walks around the block every day before she starts work.

[00:08:09] Another friend has a breakfast coffee mug and work day coffee mug. Another friend puts her hair in a top knot and puts her phone on flight mode. You know what works for you. Your ritual might involve technology, what you're wearing, where you're working,

[00:08:25] a fresh cup of coffee, or even a special candle you only burn during working hours. Find something that fits you and your needs. And number nine, reach out to someone you admire. My friend Molly has made it a daily habit to reach out to someone she

[00:08:41] admires every single day. By doing it daily, she makes it a habit and reduces the stress and pressure. Somebody doesn't respond. No big deal. She's reached out to four other people that week and surely someone will reply.

[00:09:02] You just listened to the post titled 9 Morning Habits That Are Do-able and Day Improving by Sarah Von Bargen of yesandyes.org. Thank you to Sarah. Of course there was a good tip at the beginning saying that we shouldn't

[00:09:17] attempt all nine of these, but these are great places to start. A small suggestion within number seven which was do something that makes you feel like you have your stuff together was making your bed.

[00:09:29] And that's been one that's come up a few times before because of a popular author and book. Admiral William McRaven said if you want to change the world start off by making your bed.

[00:09:42] His book is a number one New York Times bestseller entitled Make Your Bed, Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World. Highly reviewed and really similar to the message of today's post.

[00:09:55] So if you liked this one that's another resource you might want to check out. I never read the book with all the articles I read these days. I haven't read many books in recent years but that would probably be one on my list

[00:10:07] and I'm sure your local library would have a copy that you can check out for free. Let me know if you do read in what you think. But I'll do it for today, have a great rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow for the Friday

[00:10:19] show where your optimal life awaits.