Guest contributor: Shaylene Cameron, Founder & CEO of Shaylene Cameron Mentoring
It’s no secret that creating the tone for your day is important. The thing is, most people believe that they don’t have the time to do it. In our always-on culture, long hours and a superhuman ability to multitask have become the most sought-after qualities of high-performing, productivity queens — and kings. Unfortunately, this approach to performance inevitably affects our personal and professional health.
Does this sound familiar?
It’s 7:00 am in the morning, and before getting out of bed, you stretch over to the bedside table and grab your cell phone…
“Ping” it’s your Gmail. 12 new messages.
“Ping” 37 notifications on Instagram.
You ask yourself, “Why is Sarah messaging me a 3:00 am …?”
By now, the pressure is building and you’re feeling an urgent need to get the day started and respond to every other person’s demands (but your own). Even worse, you haven’t even got out of bed!
I get it. And it’s a problem.
So, how do we combat this “do more, be more, have more mode?”
Simple, really.
Take the first hour of your morning for yourself.
That means…
No emails.
Turn off the notifications.
Zero social media.
You may be sitting back reading this and thinking to yourself ” Shaylene, that’s ridiculous. I’ve got (# of people) waiting for my response to get back to them!”
I know how it feels.
I’m also confident that your world will not explode if you take a moment for yourself in the morning.
The most influential, high-performing people in the world take their mornings very seriously.
And for themselves.
Giving your body, mind, and soul some space before diving into the day is a total game-changer.
My suggestion is to keep it simple. Do something that energizes you mentally and physically to set the tone for your day.
Ex. In the morning I meditate for 10 minutes, stretch for 15 minutes, make a cup of tea and sit down to review my daily agenda.
And I stay as far away from emails and social media as I can for at least 60 minutes.
Why?
Because these first 60 minutes of our mornings are the closest thing we’ll get to our natural state of being. Meaning, we’re generally relaxed, clear-headed, rested and have a neutral outlook on the day.
Our mornings are the baseline for our daily productivity. So, take control of this crucial time and give your brain some white space. Leave the demands of others a little longer, and put yourself and your needs first.
When you take control of this precious first hour, I guarantee you’ll notice enhanced productivity and focus throughout your workday. Better still, you will decrease stress and the false sense of urgency to respond to emails and texts the moment they arrive.
Your business and work are important. Just remember that if you’re unintentional with setting the tone of your day, the intention has already been set.
Meet our guest contributor:
Shaylene Cameron, Founder & CEO of Shaylene Cameron Mentoring
Join Shaylene’s Coaching Community on Facebook #coachinginsiders
After driving over 1 million in B2C sales, managing a team of 12, and teaching everything from prospecting to client sales, Shaylene quit at the top of her game. Now, she helps coaches & service-based entrepreneurs have a positive impact AND create more wealth in their businesses.