Stay Productive All Day Long By Creating Morning Rituals

Setting every day up for success sounds like a great idea, but in reality good intentions often fall by the wayside given distractions such as social media, unwanted emails, snacking habits, excess sleepiness and a lack of planning for the day in general.

So, what can we do to make a change to improve our productivity and to achieve the ultimate dream of living the laptop lifestyle?

Here are some practical steps that I adopt every day (thanks to another digital entrepreneur :)) to help maintain my productivity all day long:

15 Minutes Of Exercise For Fulfilment.

Yep, not 60, not 30, not even 20…just 15. Why? Well, its easier to achieve than an hour. It’s a realistic goal, and it’s enough time to get the oxygen flowing and shake off any negative energy that may be lingering from the day before. There are a heap of fitness options out there and these days you only have to turn to an app store to find something that works for you. I keep it pretty simple and tend to use the Nike running (walking) app and then finish off with as many pushups and sit-ups as I can do. Now I’m no buff fit looking guy, but this simple ritual sets my day so well.

It’s also enough time for you to be grateful for everything in your world. I quite often (in my mind) show gratitude for my wife and children, our home, our immediate family and our close friends. When Im walking I’m also grateful for my surroundings, a light breeze, the ocean, birds flying and anything the can positively affect my mind in the moment. Its amazing how this makes you feel. How you can fill yourself up with so many great things that you can’t help but smile 🙂

Go Green Baby. 

We’ve all been told many times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s pretty simple to reach for a bowl of cereal, bacon & egg sandwich or cup of yogurt & muesli and a mug of coffee to get your metabolism going.

While all of these options are fine choices once in a while, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the morning lift you can get from a green smoothie or green cold-pressed juice. Healthy juicing requires less time than you’d expect to prepare and your body will feel incredibly alive.

My go to green smoothie takes me about 2 minutes to make: in a blender or Thermomix add one apple, one banana, a large kale leaf, half a cucumber, handle of fresh spinach or cos lettuce, small wedge of lemon, small thumb size piece of ginger, a teaspoon of flaxseed and a handful of ice (some organic coconut water is good if you can get it). Bend for about 30 seconds and your good to go. Its inexpensive, simple to make and will alkalise your body into a state of awesomeness.

Choose 3 Wins For Your Day.

Immediately after filling your body with green goodness, plan ahead and work out what 3 things you’d like to accomplish today. You will have between 10 and 12 hours to achieve your ‘wins’ so make sure they are things you can complete today. It’s important to choose wins that are going to have the greatest impact on your digital entrepreneurship, so choose wisely… don’t waste a win!

Remember that not every day will be an epic win, but building this into your routine will move you in the direction of where you want to be much quicker than not.

Related: The Mindset Of A Succesful Digital Entrepreneur

Use Your Calendar Effectively.

One of the most common mistakes people make in their business or at the office is not turning to-do lists into time-bound, effective project lists. I’ve found that people (including myself) who have mastered this ritual are far more likely to deliver on the task.

It’s simple: For each of the big things on your list, block off the amount of time on your calendar that you estimate the task might take.

If a task or ‘win’ is going to take you a few days to complete,  then break it up into easy to accomplish chunks so that you can celebrate at the end of each day when you check off all the things on your to-do and in your calendar.

This simple method will help hold you accountable and immediately help you refocus on the tasks you’ve prioritized when you do get distracted.

Re-Energise And Re-Focus Immediately After Lunch.

Take the 15 minutes right after lunch to refocus on the day. Get away from your computer, turn it off, go sit in another room and determine what you have on tap for the rest of the day. Another little trick to get the brain to do what is required is to have lunch a 10-15 minute walk away from your home or office. By doing this, you will have to walk back to work and your oxygen and energy levels will be where they need to be for you to re-focus and continue your day of success.

If thats not a possibility for you then simply turn off all noise and distraction for 10-15 minutes and get clear on what needs to be done to finish the tasks for the day. Then do it!
I have been giving this formula a good crack over the last month or so and I must admit that I have achieved more in the last month in terms of writing blog posts, building email lists and creating my digital life than I have done in the six months prior. Sure, I haven’t been perfect everyday, but its exciting to know that I can continue to improve each and everyday.

C.A.N.I (Can I?) is an acronym that I discovered some time ago. It is stuck on my fridge and it reminds me each and everyday to remain focused on my dreams of running a successful online business that not only delivers fantastic products for all of my clients and students, but that also provides the tools, training and inspiration for others to follow. It stands for Constant And Never-ending Improvement

And finally, I cannot express just how proud I am of all of you. By reading this post all the way through you have already proven that you are in the small percentage of people who dream big. You want more out of life than having to work your butts off until your old. You have a desire for more and that is something to be so excited about. It is the fuel that you should use to take your dreams to the next level.

Get on board the laptop lifestyle cruise ship and never look back.

Have a great day!