If you ever feel like you don’t get enough done in the day, it’s because you’re doing what you should never do in the morning.
One of the worst feelings we can experience at 5 p.m is thinking, “I was so busy today but I accomplished nothing.”
This lack of progress is the greatest source of demotivation. It’s why employees quit, small businesses fail, and why we are tempted to give up on our dreams.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.Did you know that just five common morning mistakes are holding you back?
Most self-employed experts fall into these time traps. But the most successful independent entrepreneurs overcome these obstacles and dominate their days. In turn, their productivity and income soars.
Here are five things you must NEVER do in the morning if you want to get more done, have more focus, and be hyper-successful.
#1 – Never Hit The Snooze Button
Sleeping longer is probably one of the greatest desires you had back when you were working for a big corporation. But when you hit the snooze button you are subconsciously telling your big goals and dreams that they don’t matter. That leads to a lack of urgency in life, lower productivity, and frustration by the end of the day.
Make the mindset switch this habit. When your alarm goes off, wake up with a mindset of taking on the day and tackling your top project so you make progress every morning.
#2 – Never Write Your To-Do List
Wait, what? How am I supposed to get organized?
The truth is that if you’re setting your to do-list first thing in the morning, you’re already too late!
You need to know your number one priority the night before, and have a plan in place to start working on it immediately. That’s how the most successful people in the world, from the greatest writers of today (like J.K. Rowling and Stephen King) to the most successful artists in history, control their mornings.
#3 – Never Check Email
One of the worst things you can do is roll over and start scrolling through your email. When you do that, time seems to disappear into a black hole and you can never get it back. Worse, email often leads to social media, and then you can kiss another 30 minutes goodbye.
While it’s tempting to check your email for work payments, important meetings, and the final score of the Yankees game, you must realize that email can wait.
You are much better off going to work on your top priority with a clear mind. This is how you make profound progress in the work. Give at least 30 minutes, if not 60 or more, to your top priority.
#4 – Never Mindlessly Surf The Internet
Here’s a scary thing to do. Add a time tracker application to your computer and mobile phone that can tell you how much time you spend each day on every website you visit, from Facebook to Instagram to CNN.com, TheDrudgeReport.com, and even your bank account. You can also use this free Time Tracker sheet.
When you see those numbers you might be shocked… and maybe ashamed you wasted so much time. Just think of what else you could be doing with those hours that correlate directly to your success.
Don’t let your Internet rob you of the progress you so badly want to make. ]
Add another program to your computer called Internet Freedom. This app can block you from visiting certain websites or from using the Internet at all during certain times.
With these new boundaries in place, you’ll have made time for what matters.
#5 – Never Eat or Drink Food That Makes You Feel Unwell
Many of my clients have impeccable morning routines. They wake up early, they set their minds to a positive attitude, they give gratitude, and then they spend time thinking about growing their empires.
It sounds like the perfect morning, and for some it is, but for others, the tranquility and success of this morning is all but destroyed with poor nutrition habits.
They eat cereal, milk, and juice for breakfast, then wonder why they are falling asleep and no longer productive at 10 a.m. Or worse, they consume 300 calories of sugar in their morning mug of caffeine, leading to a hard crash at 11 a.m., and then in order to compensate they have more caffeine and processed foods at lunch to get “energy.”
Too many people lose the day through their diet rather than their work habits. Don’t make the same mistake.
Make a note of what you eat and how you feel. Establish cause and effect between what goes in your mouth and how you feel in your mind. (It’s a direct relation!)
When you find the right fuel for your efficiency, you can double or triple your productivity, even if you already have an effective morning routine in place.
These are the 5 secret habits missing from so many of my client’s morning routines, and possibly from yours, too. But when you follow all of these NOT to-do rules, you’ll protect yourself from the time-management pitfalls holding you back in life.
