Seven Ways To Jumpstart Your Mornings

With fall in the air and cooler weather outside, it is sooooo tempting to not only hit the snooze button on the alarm clock, but to just shut it off and stay snuggled up in the bed.  And, unless you have children to get off to school, forcing you to get out of bed, the temptation is sometimes too great to ignore.

With home businesses to tend to, unless you’re actually sick, here are a few tips to help you get out of bed and get going in the mornings.

** NEVER turn on the tv in the bedroom while still in bed!  It is amazing how many minutes (perhaps an hour or more?) go by while you’re watching the morning shows, weather or news.

** Make a list the night before of what you need to work on in the morning.  The early morning “foggy” brain sometimes can’t quite sort out what is the high priority work items, so it becomes easier to just do nothing until the brain “clears” and you feel like working.

** If you are a daily paper reader, get up and do the early morning routine, then get your coffee / breakfast and read the paper.  Allow yourself a certain amount of time to do the paper reading and breakfast/coffee time frame, then clean up the breakfast area and head on into the work room or office.

** Get your extra coffee / water / coke ready BEFORE heading to the office or work area — if you don’t do this step, you’ll find yourself wandering back and forth to the kitchen to get more coffee, then take the coffee cup back to the kitchen, etc.

** Once in the workroom or office, plan on STAYING there for at least 2-3 hours getting some work done before you leave to do any “extra” things that may have popped into your head while working.

** If you MUST run to the store for materials for projects you’re working on, make a list and don’t go after you’ve been working those 2-3 hours; then you can run to the store as a “break”, then come back and get right back to work.

** Most importantly, don’t let neighbors, friends or relatives pop in on you for an early morning “visit”.  Simply let them know you’re not available for chit chat and you’ll call them back later (AFTER you get the work completed that’s on your list for the morning).