What do YOU do to begin your day? – a guest post by Marissa Bracke
Marissa Bracke is a Can-Do-Ologist, helping solopreneurs get back to the work they love by handling the tasks they don’t. She spends her free time collaging, ruminating about ordinary subjects with extraordinary acquaintances, and frolicking with her two dogs. Enjoy!
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.
859 days ago,
Tatyana said:
Moving, usually swimming.
Scribbling in a journal.
Answering email.
Opening up a To Do list.
And this: Often I have to give myself some time to settle in and find the stream of my focus even if it’s in big letters on my To Do list. This means being v. non-linear and starting a few strings of work until I settle down and into my groove.
And of course a warm caffeinated beverage of the day. ALways changing.
859 days ago,
Antonia/EdenSol said:
Prior to rising, I visualize/energize that which I would like to have unfold during the day. I enJoy some form of movement and outdoor meditation, so that I am energized, but grounded and centered prior to greeting that which needs my attention. I also Love a delicious cup of tea!
858 days ago,
Amy Crook said:
I’m not a morning person, so I give myself a maximum of 2 hours to sit, eat breakfast, snuggle the cats and read frivolous non-work blogs and comics and the like. Work email is one of the last things I open, unless there’s an appointment I want to make sure isn’t cancelled!
The hardest part for me is segueing into work afterward, instead of spending another 8 hours messing about on the internet.
.-= Amy Crook´s last blog ..Films about Ghosts =-.
858 days ago,
Marissa said:
@Tatyana: Being non-linear! Yes. Some days I’m very linear, other days not so much… but you reminded me of an important start to the day: giving oneself *permission* to be non-linear.
@Antonia: I love that you let your day start unfolding before even rising. What a great way to really allow yourself to get centered!
@Amy: Frivolity in the morning is soooo delectable, isn’t it? I love that you make that a part of your day!
857 days ago,
Gina said:
First I try to remember to thank my body for knowing what to do while I sleep
.
I then do some form of movement (yoga, biking, dance) – whatever feels right that day. And of course walk my 4 legged friend, Roxy.
I then meditate, have some tea and eat a healthy breakfast.
856 days ago,
Lori Paximadis said:
I’m not at all a morning person, so I have to kind of ease into my day. When I come downstairs, I head to the office, take a quick look at my datebook and to-do list, and wake up my computer. While it’s doing it’s e-mail fetching thing, I head to the kitchen to start water for tea. While I’m waiting for the water, I put away dishes from the night before and other little straightening tasks, and I pour myself a bowl of cereal or toast a bagel.
I eat my breakfast while checking e-mail, but you’re right — checking e-mail first does start out the day by putting one in reaction mode, and it might be worth changing that now that the way I work has shifted.
.-= Lori Paximadis´s last blog ..tidbits: blustery edition =-.
851 days ago,
jennifer said:
I love this post, Marissa. Having mindfulness around beginnings. Powerful.
@Gina – “My body knows what to do while I’m asleep.” That cracked me up – and it SO true! What an amazing thing to be thankful for!
@Lori – Great noticing that as things shift for you, your needs shift, too. Email is a good thing – but timing matters.
670 days ago,
Bri Clark said:
I don’t even make it out of bed before I am checking email and looking at facebook on my phone. I relieve myself. Then I walk at “odarkthirty” what my walking companion’s husband dubbed 5:30 am. I do that for about an hour. And on some days steal the annoying advertising newspapers out of driveways of people who never use them. These are loaded with that oh so special “doubler coupon”. I try to drink at least 2 bottles of water before I get my soda. Read scriptures. Pray. Eat breakfast. Wake up and get out by 9 am my 3 children. Then usually a shower.