If your morning wake-up routine is important, then another great opportunity to get your day started “right” is your work-day start ritual. Once you’re ready to get to work what usually happens?
If you’re like many people you arrive at work or at your desk, set your stuff down, maybe grab another cup of coffee, and start checking your email. And thus… you’re lost down the rabbit hole in 5 minutes or less, chasing someone else’s priority.
What might you change if you were to put your priorities first and make intentional action as your focus?
First… Be
A few weeks ago I shared a valuable new approach to intentional living in the context of navigating major life transitions which I call “Be, Do, Learn.” However, it’s not just for times of transition or trouble, it’s a practice very much for the everyday times.
What if you were to arrive at work (or at your desk) and settle in with your coffee, tea, etc. as usual. Then, you start by glancing over your calendar to remind yourself of the shape of your day. Who will you be encountering and what are the “big rock” appointments that everything else will be working around?
Next, before doing anything else, you pause for just a minute, take a deep breath and ask yourself: What emotion or energy do I want to embody today? Perhaps it’s confidence, power, and focus? Maybe it’s warmth, openness, and love? Or possibly peace, grounding, and centeredness? You might need to shift between these states throughout the day, but choosing the energy that will most serve you in navigating your day is a powerful act of intentionality.
However, don’t just identify it intellectually, evoke the energy within yourself. It’s as easy as remembering a time when you felt that emotion before and dropping into that memory as if it were happening right now. How did you stand or sit in that emotion? How were you breathing? What were you seeing, hearing, feeling when you were in that state? Bring the memory back, then amplify it… make it bigger, brighter, crisper, and clearer. Feel it soak into your bones, then lock it in.
So step one of the practice: Be. It’s a great element to do as part of your morning waking up routine, but if (for whatever reason) you haven’t done it by the time you’re ready to start your work, then now’s the time. It will take maybe 1 minute and have a huge impact on your attitude and energy for the day.
Then…Do
With your energy and attitude set, now is the time to start taking action… however, please don’t just jump into your email inbox. Rather, review your Master List, and either remind yourself of or choose your Inspired Action (One Thing) and your 3 Bonuses. By knowing your top priorities you give yourself the opportunity to give them your full attention before you give the rest of the world a chance to derail you into their priorities.
If possible, do your Inspired Action next. Get your One Thing done as early in the day as possible in order to guarantee that it doesn’t get procrastinated and missed until you no longer have energy for it. If you don’t have time before your first meeting to get your One Thing done, then glance over your calendar to figure out exactly when during your day you will have that 30 minutes.
(Remember if your Inspired Action is going to take more than 30 minutes, then you need to drill it down further to a smaller step first task, or just decide that your One Thing is to spend 30 minutes on X project. No four (4) hour projects allowed as your Inspired Action because you might be setting yourself up for frustration and disappointment rather than success.)
If you identify when in your day your Inspired Action will fit, then it will increase your likelihood of getting it done.
Beyond this, you can just roll along with your day, getting things done as they arise, and referring back to your Today list with your 3 bonuses to knock those out as possible.
Next Actions
Since I’ve started practicing this 2-step practice of Be, then Do as part of my morning routine, I’ve noticed that I begin the day feeling more calm and ready for what’s ahead. With a few of my clients whom I’ve taught this I’ve encouraged them to complete the “Be” step in the car before they walk into their office just to ensure that they are literally “showing up” for work with the best possible energy for the day.
Does this practice resonate with you? Then, give it a try tomorrow morning (or even right now), and see what you notice. What’s different?
How might the world be different if we all had this kind of intentional approach to starting our day? Less conflict, less confusion, more peace, calm, and focus? Share this on social media and let’s start the Live with Intention movement!
Psst … for those of you wondering, “What about the “Learn” step mentioned above? The Learn step of Be, Do, Learn is better at the end of the day, so we’ll save that for a future discussion.
