How
To Completely Unplug Your Morning Routine
Most
days are abuzz with activity. Which is why you need to begin them with calm.
"Just
as noise is meaningless without quiet," Fabrica CEO Dan Hill once observed, "connectivity
becomes meaningless when pervasive, when it is without a few 'sanctuary spaces'
as contrast."
For
many, that contrast is most available in the early hours: management thinker Kevin Meyer does yoga after he gets
up, Kayak cofounder Paul English makes sure to meditate,
novelist Somerset Maugham thought on the first two sentences he would write
while soaking in the bath tub.
The
lesson? Before you join the world with your iPad at breakfast, you need to
give yourself some unplugged space. Here's how.
First, rise outrageously
early
Superlative
executives tend to get up super early: AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and
Newton Investment CEO Helena Morissey both rise by 5 a.m. (or perhaps
earlier!). Why? The early-rising affords Amstrong time to work out and read,
while Morissey's affords more time with the family later in the day. To learn
how to get up early, consult Zen Habits.
If
you have an iPhone, extend the do-not-disturb time past your wakeup to add in some quiet.
Alternatively, switch on airplane mode--that'll keep the noise out at you
work through your routine.
Try
sitting still. Why? People who meditate a lot are better at introspecting, at understanding what the
hell it is that's going inside of them, than people who don't. So if we want
alignment between our personal and working lives--which is why the happiest people
often have the hardest jobs--we'd do well to get mindful.
Few
things are better for getting yourself (and your body) more primed to handle stress
than exercise. To get enough of it, set up the habit. And if you're looking for
stillness, mindfulness, and a bit of flexibility, doing yoga on your own or in a class
is a way to start. Just 20 minutes gives your brain a boost.
Technology
tends to erode structure--ever forward an email before you're out of bed?--while
rituals give structure. And since we're all
lazy, set up your morning to be easily energizing, whether by putting your
running shoes by the door or investing in an alarm clock that runs away from you. That's how you can readily get productive before you get to breakfast.
We
can clutter our early hours with menial decisions: which cereal, which socks,
which exercise to do. Cut those out by making a few decisions about how
you make decisions--that will lend your mornings some much-needed spaciousness.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3013118/unplug/how-to-completely-unplug-your-morning-routine?partner=newsletter
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