The most effective way to a productive, stress-free day

Every day I wake up and begin my day with intention.  I have a morning routine that is becoming a ritual because everything falls in to place after completing it.  I wake up, make myself a cup of tea, retreat to my writing room and spend anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour slowly waking up and writing about whatever my heart desires.  There is no pressure, no expectations.  Just the sunshine, my laptop and my thoughts all waking up to a new day.  I don’t even consider the days tasks or my e-mail or my phone until I’ve done this.  This is a practice I adopted recently and today learned just how effective it’s become and just how easily it can blow up in my face if I’m not careful.

It’s Friday, I needed to shop for groceries and I wanted to get there before the weekend’s crowds arrived in town.  I woke up, threw on some clothes, got in the car and got in to town as fast as I could.  I completed my errands and hurried home.  I was home by 9am, plenty of time to get to work and get everything done that needs to get done today.  Yet my mind was in chaos mode.  I quickly became overwhelmed with everything needing to get done.  I was frantically rushing around the house and realized I’d set myself up for disaster by waking up and rushing out the door.

I believe your mood for the day is determined within the first hour of waking up. 

Wake up and begin the day in a rush and the rest of the day will follow suit.  Wake up slowly and begin the day intentionally and productivity and efficiency will follow.  Maybe you can’t or don’t want to write for an hour every morning.  Make a cup of coffee or tea and stand on your deck and watch the sunrise for five minutes.  Start a five minute meditation routine every morning.  Walk a mile every morning before you start your day.  Whether it’s an hour ritual or five minutes (everyone can find five minutes to spare btw) find something meaningful, something you always think about doing but never make a priority.  Starting your day intentionally with that action will automatically create a positive, productive mind-frame.

So I sit here mindfully re-calibrating my day.  I refuse to let stress consume me.  It accomplishes nothing.  I’ll say that again because it’s a concept I (and maybe you) need to hear constantly…stress accomplishes nothing.  Take control of the monkey brain that won’t stop swinging from thought to thought by approaching your day with thoughtful intention.

And if all else falls, just stop for a minute and breathe.

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By Michele

Michele

Hi, I'm Michele, a nomadic wedding photographer and lover of the great outdoors. I live on the road full-time and document my adventures daily. This is my personal blog where I share and record my thoughts on living simply and intentionally with less stress and more joy. Check out my wedding and portrait photography at http://www.oncwest.com

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