Mornings are a killer. I am not the kind of guy that usually rises with a pep-in-my-step. I wake up one braincell at a time. This is just the way that I am wired, and as much as I wish I could change it, I really can’t. So I have come up with some routines that help me get the day started off right.
After I have had a quiet time, showered, and eaten something for breakfast, I usually do the next five things before I get into the office:
1. Pray through my schedule. Hopefully I have already prayed in my time with the Lord, but I pray again. My days are busy and full of very important counseling sessions, assessments and meetings. I need God’s wisdom. I take a few minutes to pray through each appointment and all the people I know that I will be interacting with today.
2. Review my OmniFocus. I take a few minutes to look over my to-do list and project list. I plan out things for the week in my weekly review, so my daily review is simple: I evaluate what didn’t get done yesterday, what must get done today, and what my top three priorities are for the day.
3. Schedule a time for email. I don’t want to check my email a million times a day. I schedule a time in my schedule (usually an hour) when I know I will get to email. This helps me be calm and avoid continually checking it throughout the day because I know I will have a concentrated time to work on it.
4. Pack fuel for the day. I make sure I have a few snacks to get me through the day. Sometimes lunch is not an option due to the busyness of the day, so snacks pull me through. I usually throw in a protein shake, a bar, an orange or apple, some cut up veggies and maybe even some meat that I can easily eat on the go.
5. Listen to an Audio book or sermon the drive in. I try to jump start my brain intellectually by listening to an audio book (on CD or through Audible) or sermon. This not only gives me some soul fuel for the day, but often the things I listen to in the morning impact my leadership of others.
This may not happen exactly like this everyday, but it is the “norm” and something I strive to maintain in order to have the most productive day possible. I live for God’s glory, therefore I must steward my life wisely.
