#1.) Do not use your phone as an alarm, and do not look at your phone first thing in the morning
This is the most important tip on the list, and I purchased a cheap digital watch with an alarm feature (after realizing all of my watches were analog with no alarms…) to get out of the phone-first-thing-in-the-morning habit. This also means I don’t have to worry about tracking down my phone at the end of the day, making sure my alarm is set, and then falling into scrollscrollscroll mode before setting it down nearby and falling asleep too late at night.
#2.) Wake up before everyone and get some you time in
For me, this means waking up early, doing some yoga, going for a run, getting cleaned up, and then knocking out some reading and/or writing. I recently finished listening to the audiobook “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins which has motivated me to waking up early and owning my mornings. It’s hard to get this all in if I don’t do it before my wife and kids wake up.
#3.) Exercise
I prefer to save the heavy lifting or cross training for afternoon or evening workouts, but anything to get the blood pumping before pulling up a seat in the office for the day will do. If you prefer to knock out strength training or cross training in the mornings, then check out some of the best home gym options here!
#3.) Shower (cold?)
Some mornings it’s tempting to roll out of bed and into the office, but I always feel more productive when I’m all cleaned up. Cold showers seem to be all the hype, but I haven’t hopped on the bandwagon yet.
#4.) Healthy Breakfast and Morning Drink of Choice
Sometimes my first drink of the day is an espresso, and other days I’m chugging water or downing a protein shake. Either way, my morning routine is not complete without an espresso (typically followed by some black coffee).
Our current espresso/coffee of choice is Café Bustelo; it’s cheap and delicious! It also works for coffee and espresso. Update: we’ve been alternating between this and whole bean Lavazza.
We invested in a Breville Express Espresso Machine several years ago, and it’s paid off in both time and money spent at coffee shops (we still occasionally splurge but our coffee shop visits are much less frequent, and it’s hard to beat my own home brew). This is by far my favorite household item.
5.) Changing Mental Gears to Work Mode
I top off my coffee, head to the “office”, and get ready to switch mental gears to work mode. This includes swapping my mouse, keyboard, and external monitor from my pc to the company laptop (I always swap them back over to my own pc again at the end of the workday which, in my mind, helps me switch back mentally to home mode).
People have different ways of “flipping the switch.” You can clip on a work badge or put a lanyard around your neck (similar to if you had one when in the office), toss on some office clothes, or lace up a pair of work shoes as opposed to some comfy sandals or slippers. Whatever works… find your switch and flip it.
I open my work laptop and slide it into position for the workday, look around my desk and remove any unnecessary clutter, and open the blinds to catch a peak outside and gather my thoughts while the laptop fires up.
This doesn’t have to be your exact routine, but establish some mental and physical ques that work for you to let your mind and body know it’s time for work.
Check out my end of day routine here: Work Life Balance: WFH Tactics on How to Switch Gears
