We’ve all got something–or maybe a few somethings–that we do to get our day started.

I’m not referring to the “roll over and hastily slap the snooze bar of the alarm clock” stuff. Necessary evils like alarm clocks nothwithstanding, we’ve all got a few actions we take that move us into the mindspace of “Ahhh… NOW my day has begun.”

Here’s what I do to begin my day

What works well for me:

Coffee. It’s a classic day-starter, but I enjoy it so much that it’s more than just a quick dose of caffeine for me. It’s a mug of warm Welcome-To-Your-Day refreshment. I always use a favorite mug, one that makes me smile when I use it. And I really revel in those first sips.

Opening my moleskine. The vital pieces of my day, appointments and must-dos, are kept in a bright red moleskine datebook that sits on my desk. I close it up at the end of each day, and at the beginning of each day, I remove the elastic band that holds the book closed, reach for the smooth ribbon that marks the page I’m on, and hear the little crackle of the book’s spine as I open it to reveal the day’s VIPs: Very Important aPpointments. It lets me know the day is really moving forward.

Greeting my vice presidents. I’m a solopreneur, and my vice presidents are my dogs. And when I sit down in my office chair, both of my VPs run over to me for a quick play session. It’s only a couple of minutes of playing tug or fetch before I turn to the computer and they turn to their naps, but it’s a vital part of our routines.

What I’m working on:

Being at the beck and call of my email. I admit it–I’m an email junkie. I love to check my email, and I can’t wait to check it first thing when I sit down at the computer. But giving in to that urge also means that I’m starting my day be being completely reactive to other peoples’ needs and messages, rather than being reflective about my own needs and plans for the day.

Eating breakfast while checking email. I’m so anxious to check email that I rarely finish eating breakfast before giving in to the urge to see what Gmail has in store for me. Of course, once I do that, I stop focusing on the delicious, nourishing food that I’m consuming, and turn my focus to the to-dos, newsletters, and flood of information I’m consuming instead.

What do YOU do to begin your day?

What works really well for you? What are you working on?