Over the next few blogs we will be looking at some of the things that successful people do that help them to stay ahead of the game.
The start of the day is important so taking time to pause, plan and reflect can make all the difference. It is all about mental preparation and getting it right can make all the difference to the rest of the day.
Avoiding being plunged into the day and having others clamouring immediately for your time and attention before you are ready should be part of your preparation.
Take a few minutes to ensure physical comfort by ensuring the desk chair is correctly adjusted, and keyboard, mouse, telephone and any other equipment needed are all within easy reach.
Once that has been done it is time to prepare mentally. That can mean reflecting on anything that has happened and deciding on whether a course of action is needed, thinking ahead and reminding oneself of one’s goals throughout the next week or month and identifying the steps to be taken.
This is part of “decluttering” the mind to allow room for the creative part to come to the surface. The second part of this process is to take a moment to pause and be in the present.
There are 5-minute mindfulness exercises that can help with this. They can be done sitting in an upright chair with both feet on the ground. This is a very simple example: close the eyes and focus only on the breathing. On each out breath press the thumb of the right hand into the palm of the left, then on each in breath, release the pressure.
Carrying out this exercise or similar ones for five minutes at the start of the day has been shown to encourage creative thinking and to cut out the usual busy mind “noise” that can get in the way of a clear vision.
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