Plan To Start The Day The Right Way

A wise mother of 3 told me today that she starts every day before everyone else. She has three adult children and for years she has woken up before the rest of the household. When I asked her why she told me "so I can start my day right". She takes 30 minutes to an hour before everyone else and prepares herself for the day. She will then sit quietly with a cup of coffee and mull over the day ahead. She has a chance to pray and plan for what is going to happen over the next 12 hours without any interruptions. It is her alone time with her thoughts. 

How often do we get to spend quiet time in our personal and working environment? Like most, you probably get to the office, switch on the computer and head straight to your inbox. Immediately giving power to the emails and letting them dictate the rest of the day. Some may scribble out some sort of list for the day but they don't plan for the day. They don't plan for the unexpected and take the time to get themselves into a positive mental state before starting their working day, they hit the ground running. It's the same with a baby. Come 6 am you are woken by baby's first cry and straight away you have to be ready go. Your day has started. 

I am not a morning person so the idea of getting up before everyone else I struggle with. However, as a night owl, I more often than not stay up 30 mins later than everyone else. I get some uninterrupted work done and plan for the next day. So when baby wakes at the crack of dawn I know what my day is going to look like. I know what to expect and can choose each morning that I am going to start the day on a positive note. (Plus it means that the sleep I get, if very little, is peaceful.) 

Whether you take this time first thing in the morning or the night before it is a great exercise to reduce unnecessary stress and worry. You know what you want to achieve and can think about how you want to achieve it without little people (or colleagues) breaking your thought patterns. It is just you; your thoughts and you. So often we have things rushing around our brains and it is good to take some time to just stop and breath. 

My boss always says, if you have a good Monday you will have a good week. Start the week how you mean to go on and that should be the same mentality we have for every day. Start it on a positive note and it should end up being a positive day. If things creep up that you didn't plan you will be in a much better mental state to deal with them. Your head is clear, you can be more flexible and will find it easier to think on your feet and find sensible solutions.

So, I encourage you to find a quiet space on your own, take a deep breath, plan and go smash your day!