[acb-hsp] What Successful People Do Before Breakfast

[peter altschul]

Expert Perspective
  What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast
  BY Laura Vanderkam 06-12-2012 8:00 AM
  This article is written by a member of our expert contributor 
community.
  Mornings are a great time for getting things done.  You're less 
likely to be interrupted than you are later in the day.  Your 
supply of willpower is fresh after a good night's sleep.  That 
makes it possible to turn personal priorities like exercise or 
strategic thinking into reality.  But if you've got big 
goals--and a chaotic a.m.  schedule--how can you make over your 
mornings to make these goals happen?
  Because I write about time management frequently, I've gotten 
to see hundreds of calendars and schedules over the years.  From 
studying people's morning habits, I've learned that getting the 
most out of this time is a five-part process.  Follow these 
steps, though, and you're on your way to building morning habits 
that stick.
  1.  Track Your Time
  Part of spending your time better is knowing how you're 
spending it now.  If you've ever tried to lose weight, you know 
that nutritionists tell you to keep a food journal because it 
keeps you from eating mindlessly.  It's the same with time.  
Write down what you're doing as often as you can.  Use my 
spreadsheet, a Word document, or a pad and pen.
  While you measuring your mornings, try tracking your whole 
week.  The reason? The solution to morning dilemmas often lies at 
other times of the day.  You may be too tired because you're 
staying up late.  But if you look at how you're spending your 
nights, you'll notice that youbre not doing anything urgent.  The 
Daily Show can be recorded and watched earlier--possibly while 
you're on the treadmill at 6:30 a.m.
  As for the mornings themselves, you can be organized but still 
not be spending them well.  Question your assumptions.  You may 
believe that "a man who wants to keep his job gets into the 
office before his boss" because that's what your father did, but 
your boss may be disappointed that he doesn't get the place to 
himself for an hour first! If you decide that something is a top 
priority, do it, but understand that we have to do few things in 
life.
  2.  Picture the Perfect Morning
  After you know how you're spending your time, ask yourself what 
a great morning would look like.  For me, it would start with a 
run, followed by a hearty family breakfast.  After getting people 
out the door, I'd focus on long-term projects like my books.  
Here are some other ideas for morning enrichment:
  For personal growth:



Read through a religious text: Sacred texts can teach us about 
human nature and history, even if they're not from a religion you 
subscribe to.  If they are, pray or meditate and get to know your 
beliefs in a deeper way.
  Train for something big: Aiming to complete a half-marathon, a 
triathlon, or a long bike ride will keep you inspired as you take 
your fitness to the next level.
  Do art projects with your kids:.  Mornings don't have to be a 
death march out the door.  Enjoy your time with your little ones 
at a time of day when you all have more patience.
  For professional growth:



Strategize: In an age of constant connectivity, people complain 
of having no time to think.  Use your mornings to picture what 
you want your career and organization to look like in the future.
  Read articles in professional journals: Benefit from other 
people's research and strategic thinking, and gain new insights 
into your field.
  Take an online class: If a job or career change is in your 
future, a self-paced class can keep your skills sharp.
  3.  Think Through the Logistics
  How could this vision mesh with the life you have? Don't assume 
you have to add it on top of the hours you already spend getting 
ready or that you'll have to get to work earlier.  If you fill 
the morning hours with important activities you'll crowd out 
things that are more time intensive than they need to be.  Map 
out a morning schedule.  What time would you have to get up and 
what time do you need to go to bed to get enough sleep? As for 
the mornings themselves, what would make your ritual easier? Do 
you need to set your easel next to your bed? Can you find a more 
cheerful alarm clock or one you can't turn off so easily?
  It's easy to believe our own excuses, particularly if they're 
good ones.  Come up with a plan and assemble what you need, but 
whatever you do, don't label this vision as impossible
  4.  Build the Habit
  This is the most important step.  Turning a desire into a 
ritual requires willpower.  Use these fives steps to optimize 
your routine:
  Start slowly: Go to bed and wake up fifteen minutes earlier for 
a few days until this new schedule seems doable.
  Monitor your energy: Building a new habit takes effort, so take 
care of yourself while you're trying.  Eat right, eat enough, and 
surround yourself with supportive people who want to see you 
succeed.
  Choose one new habit at a time to introduce: If you want to 
run, pray, and write in a journal, choose one of these and make 
it a habit before adding another.
  Chart your progress: Habits take weeks to establish, so keep 
track of how you're doing for at least thirty days.  Once 
skipping a session feels like you forgot something--like 
forgetting to brush your teeth--you can take your ritual up a 
notch.
  Feel free to use bribery: Eventually habits produce their own 
motivation, but until then, external motivations like promising 
yourself concert tickets can keep you moving forward.  And keep 
in mind that your morning rituals shouldn't be of the 
self-flagellation variety.  Choose things you enjoy: your 
before-breakfast ritual has the potential to become your favorite 
part of the day.
  5.  Tune Up as Necessary
  Life changes.  Sometimes we have to regroup, but the goal is to 
replace any rituals that no longer work with new ones that make 
you feel like every day is full of possibility.
  That is ultimately the amazing thing about mornings--they 
always feel like a new chance to do things right.  A win scored 
then creates a cascade of success.  The hopeful hours before most 
people eat breakfast are too precious to be blown on 
semiconscious activities.  You can do a lot with those hours.  
Whenever I'm tempted to say I don't have time for something, I 
remind myself that if I wanted to get up early, I could.  These 
hours are available to all of us if we choose to use them.
  So how would you like to use your mornings? This important 
question requires careful thinking.  But once you decide, small 
rituals can accomplish great things.  When you make over your 
mornings, you can make over your life.  That is what the most 
successful people know.
  Excerpted from What the Most Successful People Do Before 
Breakfast
  Laura Vanderkam by arrangement with Portfolio Penguin, a member 
of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright B) 2012 by Laura 
Vanderkam.
  Copyright B) 2012 Mansueto Ventures LLC.  All rights reserved.