On the one hand, I’m getting tired of people talking about daily habits and what you should do to be more productive. Some of the advice feels a bit airy-fairy and is just being shared for the impact it has on social media.
Don't want to read this post? Listen to the podcast instead:
I’m not one to get up at 4 a.m. so I can meditate for 30 minutes, write 5 pages in my journal, read half a book, and be ready to watch the sunrise. This might be you, but I’m 33 with 2 young kids, and I’m just not in that stage of life.
On the other hand, how you start your day and the habits and routines you adopt genuinely have a big impact on your effectiveness throughout the day. I’m also a big believer in consistency and when you do the same thing each day, these small habits can have a big impact over time.
With that said, here are some of the things I do on a daily basis to look after my health, set up for the day and get my work done.
How I start my day
I normally wake up about 5:20am, snooze once, then hit the shower which I generally finish on cold (unless I’m not feeling well). I like starting the day with a cold shower; besides the health benefits which I won’t try to explain here, it’s a nice way to energise yourself in the morning.
Next is a pretty simple breakfast, normally muesli, and I take a few supplements in the morning:
- Lions Mane – Supports brain health, clarity and focus. I can say with confidence that I feel ‘sharper’ and more focussed having taken this for a while.
- Magic Mind (affiliate link) – I recently started experimenting with Magic Mind after their Instagram ads finally convinced me to give it a go. They call it a ‘productivity shot’ which helps with your focus and concentration. Even though I’m already taking the Lions Mane, I find these shorts are a nice added boost and contain lots of natural ingredients.
- Elyte – This is a very clean electrolyte with no sugar and is high in sodium, potassium and magnesium. I drink it every day, whether I'm working out or not.
After breakfast, I use the Headspace app to meditate for about 10 minutes. That’s it, nothing more, not too fancy. Just a short guided meditation which I find helps me to focus on being present, in the here and now. This is a nice practice which I’ve held pretty consistently over the last 10 years and it helps me to be more aware of my thoughts and stop myself early if I begin to get upset or frustrated by something.
That’s my morning routine. This takes about an hour and I’m usually sitting down to work at 6:30am.
Work habits
During my workday, I follow a few habits to help stay on top of everything.
Clear my inboxes – At MinorCo, we use a few different tools to manage our work. Email (obviously), Asana for task management and internal communication, and Pipedrive for managing our sales opportunities. We also comment @ one another back and forth within deals. Throughout the day, I regularly check my various ‘inboxes’ and archive as I go. For instance, once I’ve responded to an email, I archive it. Once I respond to a comment in Asana, I archive the notification. I get to ‘inbox zero’ so I know that I’m on top of everything and there’s nothing that currently requires my attention.
Know your “next action” – I’ve talked about this before; defining your next action is a principle I originally learned from David Allen’s Getting Things Done. It essentially means, identifying the next thing you need to do to move a project or piece of work forward. Even if that means following up with someone I’m waiting to hear back from. During the day, as I engage with prospects or clients, I’m always thinking about what I need to do next to make we follow up at the right time and never drop the ball.
End-of-day routine – Before I close my computer for the day, I make sure that I’m not leaving any tasks in progress that were due that day. I go through my Asana tasks and Pipedrive activities and if there’s anything I had due today that I didn’t have time to do, I reschedule it for tomorrow or later in the week. I NEVER let tasks go overdue. This is a mistake I see a lot of our clients make and it results in overdue tasks accumulating and you quickly fall behind. By closing out my day by rescheduling any work in progress, I make sure this never happens.
Regular exercise
I’ve talked before about how sleep, exercise and diet are like ‘productivity multipliers’. When optimised, these three things will drastically increase your output with no other changes to your routine or systems required.
During the day, I make sure I get some form of exercise. I’ve been doing CrossFit consistently for about 9 years and go to classes 3 or 4 times a week. One of the reasons I like CrossFit so much is that it’s a real mix of strength training, cardio and mobility so it really ticks all the boxes.
Every weekday I always go for a walk after my lunch to get some fresh air and re-energise before I settle into my afternoon work. This is another non-negotiable habit I’ve followed for years which helps me to finish the day strong.
—
And that’s my day. Pretty simple; a few useful habits but nothing too drastic. And I don't force things either. If I don’t meditate every day, or I skip my cold shower, or can’t go for a walk because it’s raining, no big deal.
I hope you enjoyed this little insight into my day. Post your comments, questions or feedback below.