Morning is the Most Productive Time

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Good mornig,guys! Why don't you drink with me?

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I haven’t always been a morning person but with a “regular” 9-5 schedule – I didn’t have a choice. So I’ve embraced it. Every morning before work I:

1. Read two newspapers

2. Practice yoga

3. Sip green tea

4. Eat a healthy breakfast

5. Read through and respond to several emails

6. Listen to news radio for 15 minutes

7. Check my Twitter and Facebook feeds

8. Take a shower and get ready

9. Walk for 15 minutes

Most people barely have enough time to jump in the shower, take the dog out for a walk and scarf down some breakfast before they get to work. I don’t do all of the things on that list because I HAVE to – I do them because I WANT to.

My husband thinks I’m crazy but I wake up at 6:05am every morning so I can do all of those things before work. It’s hours before I have to get to work but I love that time to be productive and do the things I want to do for myself.

I recently read an e-book called, “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast” by Laura Vanderkam and it turns out a lot of successful people do exactly the same thing as me. They meditate, exercise, read, practice hobbies and do anything that they like way before they get to work.

As it says in the book — if you do things before work in the morning there’s a higher chance you’ll actually get those things done and out of the way to feel much more accomplished and productive before you sit down at your desk. You’ve all been there… you procrastinate, make excuses and get tired by the end of the day so you may never get to the gym. For me — I don’t like to be rushed. I like to give myself enough time to get ready and wake up.

Gretchen Rubin, author of “The Happiness Project” gets up an hour before her family to check email and headlines and start her day.  I like to do the same thing so that when I actually get to work – I can start working right away and only have a few emails to distract me.

So what do you do in the morning?

Madonna is a List Maker Too

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Madonna

Madonna (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I was in Paris this summer — there were reports that Madonna was staying at the Ritz Carlton hotel.  So me, my friends and hubby did what any sensible traveler would do — we stood in the rain outside the hotel hoping to get a glimpse.  That never happened. Oh well — thanks to my hubby Jay I will be going to see her perform live tonight at Yankee Stadium! Yay!

Madonna Makes Lists

But the real reason for this post — is that Madonna is just like you and me — she’s a list maker! Yep — it’s true.  There have been several reports of her listing away in her limo while trekking off to events and concerts.

There’s even this to-do list that I found on my new favorite site “Lists of Note” — check it out — it’s a list she wrote in the 1990s:

Our Love Of Lists Makes the New York Times

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Just the Grocery List

Just the Grocery List (Photo credit: Krissy.Venosdale)

Lists have officially made it! Did you see the opinion piece in this Sundays New York Times? (such a New Yorker thing to say btw.) It’s basically all about why we all love lists so much.  Two friends and my mother-in-law sent me the article.

Here’s some of the highlights from the New York Times piece:

  1. The web makes lists the easiest way to consume information. (If you’ve ever read an article with a headline like “9 Ways to Make Someone Fall in Love With You” you know what I mean.)
  2. We have short attention spans.
  3. We are competative — even in our list making. (Whose bucket list is cooler, who has read the most books?)
  4. Lists tell stories about your life (What’s in your Netflix cue? It says something about you!)
  5. Atul Gawande is the man when it comes to checklists.  These are very sophisticated list making techniques that surgeons, pilots and construction workers use daily.
  6. The Roget’s Thesaurus was created by compulsive list maker Peter Roget — from just a little list of words.

Make These Changes and Be Happier

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Brett Blumenthal

I’m a creature of habit — in grade school I would hate having to move desks! It seems like such a small thing but I remember having such an issue with this. But sometimes change is good and can present you with opportunities you wouldn’t necessarily come across (like sitting next to a cute boy in class!)

I’m fortunate enough to be acquainted with author and health expert Brett Blumenthal — she’s shared a list of small changes that will give big returns in the happiness department! Read more

Flipboard: A Must-Have App

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Flipboard

Flipboard (Photo credit: DavidErickson)

Magazine reading is my guilty little pleasure.  I absolutely love it.  Flipping through the pages and looking at all the photos and blurbs makes me so happy.  Really — it’s the little things in life 🙂

Anyway — I was talking with a few people during my virtual “Lists & Libations” meetup and one of the women mentioned that she’d love to have one place to read all her news, blogs and favorite sites daily.  I told her about Flipboard and realized I’ve never mentioned it here on this blog.  It’s my #1 absolutely most favorite app of all time because it’s just like reading a magazine — except you pick the content.

As a news junkie — I like to see what’s going on in the world when I drink my green tea in the morning but I don’t have much time to do it.  With Flipboard you can choose to include different feeds or channels depending on your interests.  I have a feed set up for my Facebook page, Twitter page, Oprah’s website, this blog, and a bunch of news sites.  And as I sip — I flip.

Flipboard is available for iPhone and Android but I really love the iPad version best because it feels like a real magazine.  It’s a much easier way to scan through Twitter because you can see all the photos that people post instead of having to click on a link.  Everything is laid out perfectly and makes it fun and quick to zip through all your feeds.

Whatever your interest you can find a feed for it — travel, style, cooking, etc. And the beautiful design has won this app all sorts of accolades.  I should also mention that Flipboard just hit a milestone — 20 million users!  Plus they just added video as a feature. Whoa.  So if you haven’t used it already — definitely put Flipboard on your must-have app list!