Morning habits, try these to increase productivity

Choose the right morning habits to boost your productivity

A study found that our morning mood has a considerable impact on our productivity once we get to work.  Several things can affect our mood.  For example, receiving bad news or kids giving you a hard time getting ready will affect you negatively.  You cannot control or avoid some of those things, but there are others that you can.  Your morning habits can increase or kill your productivity throughout the day.

Build a morning habit that helps to start your day on a positive note

It is possible to change your negative morning mood.  For instance, you can create a morning habit that helps start the day in a positive mode.  Choose the right one as per your preferences and what you know works for you.  Some examples are having a morning exercise routine or take your time to drink your coffee and have a balanced breakfast.  

For some people, taking a few minutes to write in a journal makes a big difference in their day.  You can write about those things you are grateful for or about how do you feel that day.  Making you aware of your mood helps to take some steam off and focus on other things.  Another way to do this is by chatting with somebody.  You can have a short chat while taking your coffee and smile while making eye contact.  However, choose the right colleague for this.  You do not want to do it with a person that carries a heavy black cloud on top of his head.

Avoid morning habits that create distractions

Another way to increase productivity is by avoiding distractions in the morning.  If you wake up and the first thing you do is pick your phone, stop doing that.  Once you picked it up, it is easy to go down a rabbit hole of emails, news, and social media.  

Instead, use the early hours of your day to do something productive.  Put yourself on a positive note and then get to work.  Use that time for top priority tasks where you need to use your full brainpower.  You can always schedule meetings and calls later in the day.

Using the right tools to ensure your keep the focus increase productivity

Strategy A3 is an excellent tool to ensure you keep an eye on the right things.  When you start your day by revising your A3, you see your top priorities and the actions to achieve them.  Use that information to choose the items that you will plan to complete.  Create a balance between daily maintenance and strategic activities.   Once you build your daily plan or schedule, stick to it.

An additional note on productivity

These morning habits put you in the right mood for being productive.  Also, they take advantage of your higher energy levels and clear mind during the morning hours.  However, be aware of what time of the day you are more productive.  Do things in the morning to put you in a positive mood and protect your most productive time from distractions.  Schedule those critical tasks for the time where your focus and productivity levels are higher.