What if You Could "Own Your Day"?
You know that amazing feeling you get when you wake up in the morning when you are on vacation, you feel rested, and you have that sense that the whole day is stretched out in front of you waiting to be experienced? You aren't tied to other people's demands and the day is yours. Wow - what a feeling!
What if we could create that exact same feeling of "owning our day", even when we’re not on vacation?
The Challenge
A lot can get in the way of us owning our day when it comes to the usual grind. Busy mornings, doddling kids, traffic, back to back meetings, endless email - none of this helps.
The trick is to learn to control the controllables.
What's In Our Control?
There are two parts of our day where we tend to have more control than the rest of the day; the mornings and evenings. There is still a lot that can get in the way during these parts of our day. However, these AM and PM 'bookends' are times when we can create more space if we stay intentional. The trick here is to not drift into Autopilot.
When we are on Autopilot, we get lost with old habits that don't serve us and quickly consume time and space in these bookends. Things like our phone, TV, and snooze buttons.
But it doesn't have to be that way. If we stay intentional and exert some effort you will see that you have more choice and control at the start and end of your day than you realize. Once you start to design your mornings and evenings around bright lines and routines that serve you, you start to feel like you are back in control. And this feels good!
Below are a few tips taken from the "Maintaining Focus in the Age of Distraction" webinar. You can find more info HERE.
Three Tips to Own Your Day
1. Tomorrow Morning Starts Tonight: Say what? This is a key insight. How you feel tomorrow starts with how you use tonight to unwind from your busy day and prepare your mind and body for sleep. Sleep is the 'miracle pill' for greater focus, resilience and creativity in our work, not to mention a host of physical and mental health benefits.
Make sleep a priority. Think of it as a gift to your future self - tomorrow. Yes, it takes effort and willpower to not get lost online or watching the latest show. But your future self will thank you all day long tomorrow for making that choice tonight.
2. Rise a Few Minutes Early: Part of owning your day is feeling like you are ahead of it. No rushing. Lots of space. A plan for what's most important. That's what we are trying to create. Stay focused on that. Except now you are creating that feeling within the constraints of your busy life. So the best way to create that experience is to rise a few minutes earlier than normal and use that time to get grounded before the world gets to you.
3. Create a Morning Routine That Works For You: Use these first minutes intentionally. Own this. Don't let Autopilot make all your choices and definitely don't let the world in yet.
Create a routine that works for you and helps you feel energized, centred, and ready for the day. This might include exercise, yoga postures, gratitude, meditation, visualizing who you want to be for the day, planning, journalling, etc. This needn't be lengthy - even five intentional minutes makes a difference. And if you can carve out 15 minutes, all the better. There is no perfect way. But there is an intentionality to this. The goal is that you feel centred and ready in your mind and body.
By starting the day being intentional and feeling grounded, you set yourself up for more of that throughout the day.
We Are Aiming For More "Ideal Days"
This will take some effort and practice. And some self-compassion and flexibility - since it isn't likely to go as planned initially. The key is to stay determined.
As you take more control of your evenings and mornings, you should quickly notice that there is a shift in how you feel through the day, and at the end of the day. That is what you are after - better days!
As you stick with it, you are iterating towards more of what could be called "ideal days". Those days where, despite the inevitable challenges you faced, you felt grounded, centred and energized, proud of what you got done and how you lived the day.
This doesn't require you to start with big changes. Some is better than none. Start small and shift your habits inch by inch towards what will help you feel like you are more in control of your day.
To Learn More
To learn more, check out the webinar on "Maintaining Focus in the Age of Distraction" HERE. Or reach out to me directly at scott@mindfulwisdom.ca to learn how coaching could accelerate you feeling like you genuinely are "owning your days" in only a few weeks!