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What you do within the first few minutes of your morning often has an effect on the rest of your day. There is a natural energy that everyone wakes up with but most people are unaware of. They unconsciously expend that morning ‘drive’ on their phones; catching up with social media, news, sports, fashion, tweets and emails and it ultimately takes a toll on the rest of their day.
Is there a better way to maximize your day right from the moment you wake up? The answer is Yes! It has been scientifically proven that the happiest and most successful people are those who have learned to optimize their natural energy during the most productive part of the day – early in the morning. Scientists suggest that it is best to walk around for at least 10 minutes after you open your eyes in the morning. Hopping out of bed as soon as you wake up gives you an energy that can last up to 2 hours. And how you use these few hours can drive you towards a successful day or otherwise.
Dan Ariely, a Scientist, confirms this in writing, “one of the saddest mistakes in time management is the propensity of people to spend the two most productive hours of their day on things that don’t require high cognitive capacity (like social media). If we could salvage those precious hours, most of us would be much more successful in accomplishing what we truly want.”
As for those who love to construct a “To-Do List”, he advises that instead of spending those few precious minutes of your morning on social media, it would be more beneficial to set productive targets for your day by strategically planning your activities in order of importance. He differentiates between busy work and real work, stating that there are some activities like checking mails and updates that do not require special skills or high level of concentration unlike more time sensitive projects.
In his video on How to Stop Being Lazy, psychologist Dr. Jonathan Fader supports the assertion that prioritizing helps you determine what tasks are most important.
Another author, Laura Vanderkam, a writer on time management and productivity proposes a method of creating a ‘Power Hour’ for yourself by which you can schedule and focus on the important tasks for the day. She suggests that the early hours of the morning are when you can get the most work done while feeling fresh and less burdened by other activities. She also advocates that less time be spent on social media and emails, and time should be consciously carved out for the work that matters most to us.
She believes that maximal productivity is achieved when more time and focus is given to expedient tasks at our peak time of concentration so that at the end of the day, you would have accomplished more substantial assignments and record significant progress on your projects.
You need to make every day count.
