I am incredibly protective of my mornings – this is an uncompromising part of my day where I find I am the most productive. I once plotted this out as you can see here. This has slightly changed now that I’m spending more of my time in my work office instead of my home office, but it is essentially the same.
In a not-so-strange way I demand absolute authority in this space and time to do as I please – whether that’s writing content, listening to a podcast or viewing a must see video, or relaxing. I may even schedule an early morning meeting too. Heck, I might do all of these things at the exact same time.
Whatever it is this is also the worst time to interrupt me – I’m the most volatile and most sensitive at this point in the day as I hold this morning period sacred. A few people have experienced my wrath and it’s not a pretty picture. I can’t say that this is “right” but it is what it is.
In many ways this morning time and the overly-protective attitude that I have around it is warranted – I do my best work in the early mornings and it all seems to go downhill from there.
What’s interesting to notice is that it’s getting harder and more difficult to change as I get older. I suppose I’m now seeing that the timeless truth about “old habits die hard” or the nuances of change being harder as you get older are actually coming true.
There’s safety and security in the routine. There’s a knowing that helps facilitate thought fluidly. I like my mornings. I like it when it’s quiet and I can hear myself think – which is still very chaotic considering the thousands of things that I’m thinking about all at the same time. I often wonder how I accomplish anything.
I am with you. I need to be more protective of my mornings. That, too, is my productive time. I think I might start being a little more volatile when being interrupted during this time.
I’m also the best in the mornings. Once afternoon hits my brain more or less starts to shut off. By the way, I noticed that you rarely use photos anymore in your blog posts unless you’re referring to something specifically. Have you written about why you’re not using like an “intro” photo in the beginning of the post?
That makes total sense, John. Henry Ward Beecher referred to the early morning, those first hours as “Golden”. I will be respectful and not raise your ire in the AM, my good man. I enjoyed this post thoroughly.
Peace.
Right there with ya. I don’t usually turn on my phone ringer until 10am (but I start “working” at 7:30am). That morning time after I usher the kids off to school is the time I protect the most (besides family time). For me, I try to make my mornings proactive and of my choosing (as far as what I do with my time). I find that as soon as I become accessible then I find myself in response mode vs create, be, do… mode.
I am totally agree with you John.
Morning is best part of the day and sensitive too. It decides whether our day going to be bad or good.
I’m actually the opposite here, maybe due to my “normal job” work schedule, which takes away my mornings, but in general (even without jobs), I’ve always been more productive at night. That being said, I know it’s important to be flexible, as you say. Sometimes our time is a lot less in our control than we like to think it is.
I feel as if I go in spurts in both morning and in the evening. Sometimes I get in the groove of getting up and getting lots done and other times I am staying up all nights of the hour to accomplish my tasks.
I probably need to a little more consistency in this area.
I am the same way- if my mornings get interrupted it really limits my overall productivity. One of my biggest challenges is that a lot of my clients want to meet in the morning. A quick morning coffee can cost me several hours of good writing time. I have to really push myself to be dedicated to afternoon writing when I agree to a morning meeting.
If I’m not productive in the morning, chances are I won’t be at night. This realization has come after years of trial and error. Consistent productivity comes from consistent behavior, which to me, involves taking advantage of my morning hours.