You’ve probably been heard many times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. What you eat first thing in the morning helps to determine whether you’ll have the strength and energy and focus you need for morning and thus sets the tone for the day.
The same is true for your mind. What you put into your mind during the first half hour of each day helps determine where your focus will be for the day, if you have any focus at all.
In the latest issue of Leadership Wired, John Maxwell writes:
I use my morning to set up a game plan for the day. During this time, I allow no interruptions. I never schedule breakfast meetings, and I isolate myself from distractions. I do not permit myself to strategize years down the road or to project my thoughts months into the future. Rather, I narrow my focus to the upcoming 24 hours. I ask myself: “Just for today, how can I be a success?” Viewing life in 24-hour increments, I place a premium on each day. I try to make each one a masterpiece.
I try to start every day by reading a little bit of the Bible and praying to get my mind focused on what’s most important to me. Next, I evaluate the previous day. Which tasks did I finish? Which goals did I achieve? Finally, I prioritize my tasks for the day, and schedule them into my calendar.
That’s ideally how it works, but it’s tough. I have a tendency to want to start checking email, looking at news sites, or checking the blogs I subscribe too. Sometimes I even jump right and try to get some work done. I have 3 young children, and my son, Aidyn, in particular likes to wake up sometimes as early as 6 AM which sometimes interrupts my morning time. But I’ve found when I don’t focus and plan my day first thing in the morning, it really sets me up for a bad day.
John Maxwell continues in the article to point out 3 negative effects when he neglects to plan his day:
When I neglect to carve out time in the morning to plan my day, I notice adverse effects. First, I don’t live my day on purpose. Instead of choosing where to invest my time, I cede control of my schedule to whatever circumstances happen to arise. Second, I squander my energy. Since I don’t outline clear goals for my day, I float from one activity to another without getting anything done. Finally, when I skip my morning planning time, I feel overwhelmed. Since I’m ambitious, I have a propensity to bite off more than I can chew. If I don’t focus my attention, the weight of my numerous involvements begins to drag me down.
How do you start your day? Do you plan out each day according to your priorities and goals? Or do you just kind of take things as they come?
