magine this: you wake up and you instantly achieve something. You complete a goal, you make progress, you build momentum and you build self-esteem. You make it part of your routine and achieve something everyday, instantly.
All you have to do is tackle a goal when you wake up.
Each morning when I wake up I get started on one of my goals before I do anything else. Before I’ve even had breakfast, had a shower or got changed, I’ve usually completed the most important task of my day.
When I started doing this it had massive effects on my productivity. I had done the most important thing, I’d made progress on the previous day, I’d achieved what I wanted to achieve and had the rest of the day to add to that.
By making this part of my morning routine, I gave myself a huge boost every single morning, compounding on the last day. My achievement and progress rate went through the roof, my momentum grew, and the feeling that I’m achieving something is constantly with me.
It is simple to do, and could be the quickest, easiest lifehack you’ve ever used!
The first step is to plan what it is that you’ll be working on. This needs to be done the night before.
What is your major goal? What is the most important task for you to do? What would reap the most benefits? What would progress you further and push you towards what it is that you want?
The important point here is to choose something that provides the most results, it has to be something that is meaningful to you and helps you to progress toward your goals. If you choose a major task that is congruent with your life goals, you’ll feel a stronger sense of achievement. If you’re faced with a decision of writing a book vs. ironing clothes, start writing the book! Tackle the big things early in the day, and you’ll see that you still have time for the small things later. Put them at the bottom of your to-do list!
Once you know what you’re going to do and you have your plans set out for when you wake up, it is time to forget about it and get some sleep!
When you wake up, get started instantly. Jump out of bed, skip your whole morning routine and just get started on the task.
Don’t get a shower, don’t get changed, don’t stretch, lie back and turn on the T.V. If you really have to eat something, grab something quick and wait until later for a larger breakfast (unless you plan on working for a long time)!
You don’t want any distractions, no TV, no radio, don’t check your e-mails, don’t check your RSS reader, don’t check your facebook, twitter, digg, stumble upon, any social network. If you don’t need it, don’t use it!
If possible, don’t have anyone interrupt you or disturb you. It helps a lot if you wake up before anyone else. You get an hour or two where you can just sit quietly and get on with your task,
it’s this quiet isolation that is ideal for getting something done.
If you do this everyday, you’ll be making progress every single time you wake up, before you have even had a shower and got dressed, you’ve achieved what you wanted to. Before everyone else is awake, you’ve completed one of your big goals. It is a life changing habit that is easy to start. Make it part of your morning routine and see how your progress snowballs, compounding each day on top of what you have previously achieved. Doing it every day helps you to stay motivated, it’s constant progress, it isn’t once a week , it is every day, it is part of your routine, it is the first thing you do, everything else is second to it.
Those goals that are gathering dust can be done before anyone else is even awake. You’re starting the rest of the day with your main goal completed, you’ve built momentum for the rest of the day and you are going to be inspired and motivated by what you’ve already achieved. This constant feeling of achievement every morning means that your self-esteem is building, which means that you are motivated to achieve more and more. It’s a cycle of motivation and achievement and once you get started it is hard to stop it.
Try this, and instantly achieve something the next time you wake up.
Paul Dickinson is the author ofSolopreneurProductivity.com, a blog designed for the sole purpose of providing productivity tips and tricks for solopreneurs! Follow me on Twitter:@pauldickinson