The last several mornings I’ve woken quite early, usually between 3:40 a.m. and 4 a.m., with a fresh idea for my business. Each morning I’ve enthusiastically bounced out of a body warmed bed into the cooler air of the room and trotted downstairs to put my ideas to paper, trusting they’d go somewhere eventually. It’s been an interesting experiment the past while, utilizing my unconscious mind to
The last several mornings I’ve woken quite early, usually between 3:40 a.m. and 4 a.m., with a fresh idea for my business.
Each morning I’ve enthusiastically bounced out of a body warmed bed into the cooler air of the room and trotted downstairs to put my ideas to paper, trusting they’d go somewhere eventually.
It’s been an interesting experiment the past while, utilizing my unconscious mind to mine for ideas to implement in my business and using it to also further develop how I might implement those ideas with the most ease and effectiveness, because let’s face it, we all want to work “smarter” rather than “harder”, right?
Putting key routines in place is important
I’ve just begun to re-enter the world of content creation again. Being an author, Coach, web developer and soon to be app owner, I find myself looking at unique ways to keep my interest high while also keeping my productive side engaged. Some days are more comfortable than others as I’m sure you’ve discovered in your own life and business.
I thought I’d share with you some of the key “productivity” hacks I’ve found work most effectively for me. Oh, by the way, I am a card-carrying member of the “Shiny Object Syndrome” Club, so if these tips can keep ME on top of my game, provided you actually use them, they can probably do a good deal for you as well. I’ll share some of my critical strategies for invoking a level of creativity in my world that allows me to continue to come up with ideas for videos, articles, lessons, courses, and programs for my business while doing so with more ease and less stress.
1. Use the power of your Unconscious! My number one go-to strategy that has never failed me. How it works: I focus on an area of my business or personal life I want to improve or create a change in or drum up an idea for. Let’s take my oldest and most favorite hack by far — the silent Alarm clock! I’ve not used an alarm clock for many years now, but those times when I do need to be up by a particular time, or I wish to be awake before my regular waking time, I will set my “internal” clock. I simply envision the time I wish to wake up the next morning and ask my Unconscious to wake me a few minutes before that time. So, for example, I want to wake for 6:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. Tonight, just before I go to sleep I’ll envision the number 6:30 am on an alarm clock in my mind. I’ll then “talk” to my unconscious mind and say, “Unconscious I would like to be awake by 6:30 am tomorrow morning, please.” Then, I thank my Unconscious and release the request. The following morning I will wake, usually about 10 minutes before the time I asked to be woken. I’ve used this technique for many years now, and it hasn’t failed me yet.
2. There is a morning routine known as The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and a book by the same name. Utilizing this morning routine known as S.A.V.E.R.S can kick your productivity and achievement into high gear with minimal effort but huge payback! S.A.V.E.R.S stands for Silence (Meditation), Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading and Scribing (Journaling). One of the most supportive groups on Facebook is the Miracle Morning Group where you can find Accountability partners, encouragement, tips, pointers and lots of support and hi-fives for your efforts. Once you begin this morning routine, you find yourself achieving things you set out to achieve and doing so with much less effort than you might expect.
3. That leads me to an evening routine which I believe is also important to help you wind down your day and prepare for the next. I use something called The Mental Bank Program. This is a simple 5-10 minute routine that helps you go over your day and note the progress you’ve made toward your chosen goals and desires designed to help you really up-level your life. You keep a “ledger” which helps you determine your progress, and it also includes Affirmations as well as a Gratitude journaling session. In this routine, you are “paying yourself” for tasks and steps you’ve taken through your day to propel you toward your dreams, goals, and aspirations. It’s simple to set up and simple to do, but it’s the sticking to it faithfully every night where something called “Homeostasis” steps in and tries to keep you “the same.” I find that combined with the Morning Miracle, this allows me to enjoy a much more productive, fulfilling and less stressful day. I added an evening Meditation to my practice which I find finishes off my day beautifully.
4. Priming Exercise – this is a 10-minute session by Tony Robbins that you do in the morning, I usually do my Priming exercise in front of my desk because it helps me to get really grounded and focused and ready to push out my work. This is a combination of breathing and visualization. You breathe rapidly while pushing your arms up and then down a number of times, then as Tony leads you through guided visualizations you simply allow the sensations of the energy now running through you to do its job and increase your level of energy while also visualizing beneficial aspects that “feed” you as well as the world around you. It’s a powerful exercise that is well worth spending the time on.
5. I follow that exercise with a session of Robin Sharma’s process where you work for a set number of minutes uninterrupted, then take a break, then work for another fixed number of minutes. This process allows you to literally get a good deal of work done first thing in the morning to let you have a much smoother, more relaxed day ahead. I usually set my timer to work for 55 minutes of uninterrupted time, then I break for 5 minutes to walk around a bit, get some water or do a quick Yoga stretch or two, then I set another 55 minutes and work uninterrupted for that time.
Often, I can push out enough work that I can take it much more comfortable in the afternoon, while sometimes I will even take the entire afternoon off just to do things I want to do, whether that’s painting, drawing, shopping or reading. I’m free to spend that time as I wish because I’ve been quite productive in the first few hours of my day.
Oh, by the way, I am a card-carrying member of the “Shiny Object Syndrome” Club, so if these tips can keep ME on top of my game, provided you actually use them, they can probably do a good deal for you as well.
There are many ways to encourage yourself to be more productive during your day, but sometimes it makes sense to have specific well-established routines in place for a few reasons, one being is that you don’t have to figure it all out on the fly continually. When you have a set routine in place, you know that your day is always going to say the Miracle Morning routine, followed by whatever other practices you’ve chosen to adopt. I do highly recommend that if you are someone who desires to get a lot done in your day but you don’t want to feel as though you are working yourself to exhaustion, that you implement a routine that helps you to really enjoy the process while reaping the benefits!
