Waking up to a screaming alarm clock is not the same as time management. In fact, if you are a person who sleeps until the last possible moment, throws on clothes and races out the door, you have no time to manage in the mornings. No wonder you feel that your life is out of control and you aren’t getting done everything that needs to be done. Get a better start to get a better result for your day.
Get up twenty minutes earlier. Set your clock ahead. Then set a second clock for five minutes later and place that clock across the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. Sneaky but effective...
By waking up earlier, you have time to wake up gradually, take a shower and enjoy a cup of coffee or juice. This is a kinder way to get your body and your brain oriented to the day.
You also have time to check your calendar and have a big picture of what’s happening in the day. You are also more likely to remember to bring the flash drive that you were working on last night and extra clothes to change into for a workout after work. If you don’t remember these things, you’ll waste more time going back to get them.
An even better way to turn morning from dread to enjoyable is to get up earlier, even as much as an hour earlier to set the tone for your day. Spend quiet time reading spiritually or mentally uplifting material or meditate. Personally, I like things along the lines of the Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale.
The important thing here is for you to do something for you. That sets the tone for your day. If you get you and immediately check your phone or email, you're starting the day doing what everybody else wants you to do. And people always want you to do something...
Sit down for breakfast. Don’t grab toast and eat it as you are packing the car. You can find several fast options that offer better nutrition and take the time to eat, not inhale it.
As you are sitting down with your bagel, oatmeal, cereal or egg and cheese sandwich, look over your calendar to preview what you need to get done today. Before you insist that you don’t have time to sit down and eat breakfast, realize that you only need fifteen minutes to do this.
Even a quick breakfast is better than shoving food in your mouth while driving.
After just as few days, you’ll see why starting the morning earlier is the best time management option to maximize your productivity for the entire day. So set that clock back and you’ll move forward.
AMEN Brother!
I meet with so many emerging artists from all genres of music and after a brief discussion about what they have been doing, what they are hoping to achieve, and why their efforts are not working, I find that "Time Management" is usually the reason they are not seeing good ROI.
Too many artists/groups/labels find themselves getting bogged down by not managing time spent on email, web surfing, and even interruptions from artists or fans. I have found that when I manage how much time I allow for these things I get a lot more done and see much higher ROI from my efforts!
Keep up the great blog! It's packed with great info for emerging artists!
Peace,
Jai
www.JaiHutcherson.com
"Love the Music in Yourself, Not Yourself in the Music!"
Posted by: Jai Hutcherson | March 30, 2009 at 12:11 PM