Not too long ago I felt like the first one to the office was going to be the most respected (and best paid).
So the morning routine would be fairly rushed; get up as early as possible (as a night owl that means not much sleep), get ready as quickly as possible and arrive to work (usually by 7am)….yes as quickly as possible. I have heard it said that starting your day off on the “right foot” was critical to being happy, never gave it much thought though. But I was already “happy”….wasn’t I, running & racing through my busy life?!
If you noticed there was a pretty large void in my routine , there was no conversation, no breakfast of any kind, no devotion time, no newspaper or book, no news ingested by any method, nothing really of any significance or more importantly no thought of mental or physical health. But I was climbing the corporate ladder….didn’t that count?!
Fast forward…. new routine( and life); prayer time or devotion most mornings (I’m reading through Walking With God by Eldredge right now) followed shortly by healthy breakfast and some news (web or mobile mostly). My wife and I are fortunate enough to eat breakfast together most mornings, which if you can swing it, is THE way to kick off your day. I still manage to be working in whatever capacity most days before many people have even grabbed their morning Starbucks, although my office looks a lot less like a cube these days than it used to.
All I can offer is the old adage of starting your day off on the “right foot” could not be more true! The morning is where the tempo is set, your energy and focus have a hard time catching up if you aren’t getting them stretched out in the AM.
So tomorrow….get on your good foot (or the right foot).
Well said… Skipping all that stuff meant your best work peaked early in the long day. Thanks for the reminder.
Erik, absolutely. We need to stretch our productivity and creativity. Too many times we assume our routines/habits has nothing to do with our work output.