I’ve always considered myself a morning person, willing to spend those early morning hours on creative work or preparing for my day. In fact, I even enjoy it. However, lately I’ve discovered a new morning routine, and it’s been improving my productivity in a way I didn’t expect. And it’s pretty simple!
Well, it didn’t feel simple at first – I get out of bed as soon as I wake up.
At the end of last year, a friend told me about the Mindset Reset program by Mel Robbins, a science-based approach to changing habits and negative thought patterns. One of the strategies Mel promotes is getting out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off, and spending at least 10 minutes checking in with yourself, thinking about your plans and goals for the day.
In the past I always woke up early, but I would spend a few minutes “easing into my day,” scrolling through Instagram while my husband got ready for work, and catching up on emails before I took my dog out and started my work. I thought that since I was technically awake, things were good.
Not quite, as it turned out.
How Mel Robbins’ morning routine changed my work
The problem with my old morning routine was that the very first thing I did was focus on other people. Instagram, personal emails, work emails – I let the entire world in almost as soon as my eyes opened. But now I spend the first moments of my day planning and idea-generating instead. I don’t get too complicated – it’s mostly a brain dump of the things that are pulling at me the most that day. However, it keeps my creative ideas and tasks from getting buried in a bunch of other tasks.
Since I started doing Mel Robbins’ morning routine, my productivity has improved. I write out the day’s most important tasks, and why they’re important to me. This way, I can identify what small steps can move a project forward, and I take those steps before I do anything else. I’m excited to find new solutions to problems because I remember what’s at the finish line. And something I didn’t expect – I feel more alert! Again, I thought I had been doing fine on this front before. But since I started getting out of bed right away, I have the energy to do things like clean both of our washrooms at 7.30 in the morning! That only happened once, but still. Whoa.
Even though I don’t actually wake up any earlier than I did before, it feels like I have more time in my days. So far, I’m pleasantly surprised at how this one small change to my morning routine has helped me to be more creative, and focus on the things I’m truly passionate about.
Do you have a routine in your creative business? I’d love to hear about it!