09/06/2011 What The Most Successful People Do B… BNET twitter facebook Mobile Apps Manage Newsletters Original Green coffee 800 For Healthy Weight loss special offers for retail and wholesale www.green-coffee-800.com Greenfield Gardens B&B Affordable Luxury Accommodation From R300 for a single room www.greenfieldgardens.co.za Bed & Breakfast Lincoln Quality is our aim so you gain Off street parking, Free WiFi WWW.Dorringtonhouse.co.uk What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast By Laura Vanderkam | May 17, 2011 Share Share 1,503 1,175 Me gusta 2000 105 Mornings are a mad-cap time in many households. Everyone’s so focused on getting out the door that you can easily lose track of just how much time is passing. I’ve had hundreds of people keep time logs for me over the past few years (you can see some of mine here and here), and I’m always amazed to see gaps of 90 minutes or more between when people wake up and when they start the commute or school car pool. That would be fine if the time was used intentionally, but often it isn’t. The most productive people, however, realize that 90 minutes, 120 minutes or more is a long time to lose track of on a busy weekday. If you feel like you don’t have time for personal priorities later in the day, why not try using your mornings? Streamline breakfast, personal care and kid routines. Then you can use 30-60 minutes to try one of four things: 1. Play, read, or talk with your kids. Mornings can be great quality time, especially if you have little kids who go to bed soon after you get home at night, but wake up at the crack of dawn. Set an alarm on your watch, put away the iPhone, and spend a relaxed half an hour reading stories or doing art projects. If you have older children, aim for a leisurely family breakfast. Everyone talks through their plans for the day and what’s going on in their lives. If family dinners aren’t a regular thing in your house, this is a great substitute. 2. Exercise. You shower in the morning anyway, so why not get sweaty first? Trade off mornings with bnet.com/blog/time-management/…/439 1/4 09/06/2011 What The Most Successful People Do B… your partner on who goes out and runs and who stays home with the kids. Or, if your kids are older (or you don’t have any) work out together and make it a very healthy morning date. 3. Indulge your creative side. Lots of people would like to resurrect a creative hobby like painting, photography, scrapbooking, writing, even practicing an instrument. What if you went to bed a little earlier three times a week? Skip that last TV show or those last emails and get up a little earlier the next morning to put in some time at your easel before the day gets away from you. 4. Think. Strategic thinking time is incredibly important for seizing control of our lives. Spend 30 minutes in the morning pondering what you want to do with your time. You could also use this time to pray or read religious literature, to meditate or write in a journal. All of these will help you start the day in a much better place than if everyone’s running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Note: Are you looking for a better start to your day, or to use your time more effectively in general? I’d like to do a few time makeovers of readers over the next few weeks. Email me if you’d be interested in logging your time, trying a few strategies, and sharing what you learn. Thanks! Related: The Best Productivity Tool You’re Not Using Hey, Where Did My Day Go? Work/Life Balance: A Career-Killing Phrase? Photo courtesy flickr user, bigal_60714 Related Tags Minute, Breakfast, E-mail, Strategy, TVs, Online Communications, Management, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Laura Vanderkam lvanderkam Talkback Most Recent of 105 Talkbacks BNET Blogger RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st This is great advice. I check my email and respond to comments first thing in the morning. I like the scheduled ritual and it gets that task off my plate. Now, if I could just make the rest of my day as productive. Suzanne Lucas 05/17/2011 12:34 PM BNET Blogger RE: RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st @Suzanne Lucas Glad you've found something that works for you! I'm trying to use that first hour or so to do something non email or internet related -- maybe because I'm too tempted to check it at other times... lvanderkam 05/17/2011 01:20 PM RE: RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st @Suzanne Lucas I do the exact opposite because I find that my mornings are my most productive time and it is the best time to work on more strategic priorities - such as writing proposals etc. But this works for me as I am a "morning" person - if you get going mid-morning, afternoon or evening then checking emails first thing may be the perfect thing for you to do. amh6417 05/20/2011 02:04 AM bnet.com/blog/time-management/…/439 2/4 09/06/2011 What The Most Successful People Do B… RE: RE: RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l People Do Befor e Br ea kfa st @amh6417 That which is hinted at here is true, people have different makeups. I do my emails in the mornings- and then it is done for the day until tomorrow morning. My strongest performance is in the late morning and afternoons. 367earl 05/24/2011 05:12 PM RE: RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st @Suzanne Lucas - I read my motorbike magazine for about 10 minutes. Helps get the day of to a calm, relaxed start. iPhone is turned on usually after breakfast with the kids. I love the idea of a breakfast where everyone discusses their day - mine are young but its a good habit mlillywh 05/31/2011 01:19 AM RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st Laura, I'm not enough of a morning person to be crafty in the a.m., but I do love to schlump onto the recumbent bike to pedal for 45 minutes while watching the early morning news (it's actually better news than in the 8:00 hour) and doing catch-up reading during commercial. No cute workout clothes necessary AND I've killed 3 birds with one stone in less than an hour...add juice and its a four star day! @the_b_company BethAnnHilton 05/17/2011 04:04 PM BNET Blogger RE: RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st @BethAnnHilton This is one of the reasons I'm looking into buying a treadmill. I'd prefer to run outside, but the treadmill might open up more morning possibilities... And it's fun to watch TV guilt free! lvanderkam 05/18/2011 08:23 AM Message has been deleted. RE: RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st @BethAnnHilton Right with you. I read on the recumbent bicycle: good literature or non-fiction which I don't get around to otherwise. Only caveat is that first thing in the morning you're far more prone to injuries unless you warm up thoroughly first, and the warm-up adds time. Shadeburst 05/27/2011 01:25 AM RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st the first thing I do in the morning is have breakfast! then I have the energy to exercise, read my email, and feed the other animals in the house (cats/dog). misterken 05/17/2011 06:03 PM RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st I alternate between writing in my journal and exercising. Either way, my day starts out better than any day I have slept in. Personal time is important. jennywainwright 05/18/2011 01:44 PM RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st bnet.com/blog/time-management/…/439 3/4 09/06/2011 What The Most Successful People Do B… Relaxing is a worthy addition - I try to take a leisurely breakfast and read the paper for 10-15 minutes. It's my me time, my kids often come and sit with me, although they've usually had their breakfast by this time, it's still a nice calm few minutes before the craziness begins! mjkelleher 05/18/2011 02:26 PM RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st I like to use that morning buffer time to do my blog reading and commenting. It's nice to kick off the day by seeing what the world is up to, and getting out there a little bit. Also if you read blogs later in the day, the topic may have "jumped the shark!" Rosemary_ONeill 05/18/2011 02:27 PM RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st You´re so right Laura ... ir works ortegon 05/18/2011 02:28 PM RE: Wh a t T h e Most Su ccessfu l Peopl e Do Befor e Br ea kfa st Some great tips, especially the creative thinking. Most of our great ideas come from lying in bed. Our morning usually consists of posting our own articles, going through other articles in our RSS feed from various blogs and getting caught up in our social media. After that usually a workout. We need coffee after all this Cheers, Pete http://www.hecktictravels.com petergheck 05/18/2011 02:30 PM View More Comments Talkback - Tell us what you think People Do Before Breakfast Subject (max length: 75): RE: What The Most Successful Comment: when new comments are added Alert me Add Your Opinion Popular on CBS sites: US Open | PGA Championship | iPad | Video Game Reviews | Cell Phones © 2011 CBS Interactive. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use | Advertise | Jobs bnet.com/blog/time-management/…/439 4/4