Morning Pages (10 – 20 minutes)
Journaling helps me work through any issues, blocks, and negative or positive emotions. I must stick to this routine; otherwise I start feeling like things are out of control or chaotic. This helps me reveal parts of myself I didn’t know about, like fears and dreams.
I like following many different ways of journaling. Sometimes I need prompts, but the idea is writing with no restrictions, just letting it flow.
Morning Pages is a method created by Julia Cameron: “Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning.”
Clean (10 – 15 minutes)
I complete this automated cleaning routine as soon as I’m done brushing my teeth. I started building it with the habit stacking method.
James Clear explains is well: “One of the best ways to build a new habit is to identify a current habit you already do each day and then stack your new behavior on top.”
My kitchen and workspace must be clean and organized for my mental sanity. You know what they say, out of sight out of mind.
Habit Tracker (2 minutes)
As I’ve written before, tracking my habits helps me stay consistent with the tiny activities I do every day. This way, I can create a structure for harmony. I no longer have to decide on what I should do that could help me feel in balance.
I created my own habit tracker in Notion. I use it every day and review my completion rate every week to find opportunities for improvement. Download it here.
Daily Log (5 minutes)
I try to keep a consistent record of what I’m doing every day for my work, and it helps me stay accountable.
At the beginning of the day, I ask myself:
- What will I do today? I list my top three priorities
- What’s currently blocking me? I identify anything that’s distracting me at the moment.
- What am I doing next? I choose my very next action after the Daily Log.
Another way of logging my work more flexibly is with Interstitial Journaling. Instead of tracking tasks with a to-do list, I follow my work with a journal.
Meditation (15-20 minutes)
I like afternoons for meditating, which is when I usually feel the lowest energy. I take some time to ground myself, stay light, calm, and in the now.
Strategize with 80/20 (10 minutes)
So far, all of the daily activities help me feel like my day is in order. Still, this activity pushes me to step into the entrepreneur’s shoes.
The Pareto Principle or 80/20 Rule says: 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts.
I ask myself: what’s the 20% of my life that’s getting me the most impact, the 80% impact, and how do I stop doing the rest?
Instead of doing the easy stuff, just for the sake of staying busy, I make sure I’m doing the things with the most ROI.
Deep Work (90 minutes at least)
Deep Work is an activity performed in a state of distraction-free focus. I’ve written about it here.
With the help of the Pomodoro/Flowtime techniques, I quickly find the flow I need to move through my projects in a way that doesn’t feel draining.
This usually happens first thing in the morning, but I really don’t have a fixed time to do it. It really depends on my energy levels and the quality of my attention, which are influenced by my nutrition, so I gotta make sure I’m well fed.
Move my body (20 minutes)
I dance, do a yoga session or go for a walk.
Exercising is the best energy booster. Not only does exercise improves my overall energy, but it also stops that afternoon fatigue slump and eliminates ‘brain fog’ as much as possible.
Organize my Notion setup (5 minutes)
For me to keep everything organized, I take 5 minutes at the end of the day to make sure everything is where it needs to be, and that nothing is falling through the cracks.
Prepare for the next day (5 minutes)
When I’m done with work, I check my calendar and tasks to accomplish the next day, making necessary adjustments depending on what happened during the day.
I also visualize what a perfect day would look like, which helps me stay motivated or at least excited to work on my stuff.
