I am a to-do list junkie.
When I can check multiple items off of Wunderlist at the end of a busy day, I feel a rush of accomplishment.
The problem with populated to-do lists is that it is all too easy to simply complete all of the easiest tasks first.
While this gives an illusion of getting a large amount of work done, often it is solely the busy work we give ourselves, and not the most important (and often more difficult) things on the list.
A solution to this I learned from reading The 4-Hour Workweek is to do my single most important task first thing in the morning.
Since returning to Ohio, every morning before checking email or social media, I sit down at my laptop and write 1000 words. I also leave my phone off in another room to avoid that distraction as well.
By knocking out the most important items on the agenda prior to doing anything else, it sets a great tone for the rest of the day and gets rid of the “Man, I really need to. . .”s. There is also something liberating about not checking email or social media the second I awake.
So far, the experiment has gone great and I have produced more content in a single week than ever before. In addition to writing more blog content, I am also currently writing an e-book, and for the first time in my life I can actually picture one of the many grandiose ideas I’ve had becoming a reality.
What do you, or can you start doing first thing in the morning?