Getting up in the morning should focus on “good” rather than “early”

6 simple daily habits, so that your morning will no longer be based on “early”.

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Editor’s note: In most people’s cognition, only when you get up early in the morning can you guarantee the next day’s efficiency. But the question is, if you can really get up early, even if you may sacrifice your sleep quality, can you still maintain high efficiency in subsequent work? The original title of this article was Mornings Should Be Easier, Not Earlier. The author, Nick Wignall, is a psychologist and psychotherapist. He proposed in the article that it is not necessary to get up early in the morning. The real efficient work is not to get up early. It depends on how you use your precious time after getting up in the morning and hope to inspire you.

Image source: Pexels.com

Everyone seems to think that in order to be more efficient, you have to get up early. After all, as the saying goes, the day is morning.

When we heard that entrepreneurs started working towards their entrepreneurial goals at 4:30 in the morning, or when we heard that artists were already working on projects of their own interest long before the official work began one day, we Always inspired and inspired.

However, the worship of these early heroes seems to ignore an important detail about the nature of efficiency. What matters is not how much time you spend, but how you use time.

Do you tend to spend three hours doing tasks that are distracting, unplanned, and inefficient, or do you prefer to spend an hour staying focused and continuing?

I think most people should choose the latter. In the long run, the latter is bound to be more beneficial.

As a psychologist, I have worked with many high-performance people myself. I have found that meaningful work does not naturally appear in front of you.

Actually, you won’t be able to get up early. If you don’t sleep well, feel cluttered, or even very upset, you can’t do things in an efficient state.

So make the most of your morning timeIn the meantime, we should make the morning “good” rather than “earlier”. The secret to making the morning better is to develop good daily habits, prepare yourself mentally, and learn to clear away distractions, then strengthen those habits.

As far as I am concerned, I usually use the following six simple daily habits to keep me in the most efficient state.

1. Prepare in advance the night before

If you get up in the morning and face a series of choices, it will easily lead to Decision Fatigue, and then you will consume your motivation before you officially start working.

The solution is also very simple: Prepare the night before and reduce the psychological burden after waking up the next morning. For example, before going to bed at night, you can prepare in advance as follows:

Decide what to wear tomorrow, then fold it aside in advance;

Make breakfast and lunch for the next day in advance, and then place it in the refrigerator;

Organize and pack all the items and equipment you will need the next day.

2. Get a good night’s sleep

It is undeniable that some people can complete the next day’s work well even if the sleep quality of the previous night is not good. However, if you are faced with high-intensity creative tasks, and the quality of sleep just the night before is not good, then it is difficult for you to accomplish this type of work outstandingly.

In order to get a good night’s sleep, I have the following 4 suggestions:

Stay regular. Do your best to ensure that you go to bed and wake up on time every day, even on weekends. Compared to irregular sleep, maintaining a regular schedule can strengthen your sleep system.

Do not go to bed if you are not sleepy. Going to bed before you fall asleep usually makes you worry, which further leads to anxiety and insomnia. Listen to your body and don’t try to force yourself to sleep.

Establish and maintain a “sleep track”. You will fall asleep more easily in a relaxed situation. If you don’t value relaxation before bedtime, you may be in a difficult position to force yourself to sleep. An hour before going to bed, you should throw away all the distractions of the day and not be disturbed by any work or goal-oriented things.Let yourself relax completely.

Do not try to force changes to your sleeping habits. It is a good thing to be able to take your sleep seriously. However, over-thinking and wanting to adjust your sleep habits may lead to a “sleep effort” phenomenon, and more paradoxically, it may also affect your sleep quality. You just need to develop a sleeping habit that suits you and stick to it.

3. Before starting work, develop a fixed “start-up habit”

Every morning, when I sit at my work desk, the first thing I do is turn on the Spotify music player. Before the official work every day, I will listen to my favorite song.

By listening to songs, it can mobilize my optimism and also help me maintain a good state of energy.

However, the real efficiency of this habit is that I always choose the same song, which can stimulate and train my brain, and when I hear this song, I can automatically turn on the work mode.

You can set other “starting habits” for yourself, such as three deep breaths. The most important thing is to stick to this “starting habit” before each formal work.

Image source: Pexels.com

4. Focus on deep work

In the book “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World”, the author Cal Newport proposed the concept of “deep work” , Used to describe work that pursues quality, not quantity.

“To reach your peak working condition,” Newport wrote in the book, “you need to work continuously for a period of time, maintain a high degree of attention on a task, and be free from any other factors. “

After a day, many people really stay focused and productive at work, not even an hour. In order to achieve deep work in the morning, I have three suggestions:

Preparation of specific arrangements for in-depth work in advance. I have a “4:55 habit” that helps me reduce distractions and keeps me focused on what matters most. Because I get off work at 5 pm every day, and around 4:50 pm, I can basically finish the work of the day. So, I started preparing for work from 4:55 at the latest, and got out of work mode from the mentality. In the first few minutes before leaving work, I will plan two or three important tasks on the note paper in advance to be completed the next day, and then stick it on a conspicuous position on the work surface.

Deep work away from your phone when working in depth. Even if it is a small interference factor, it may destroy our deep work, and it is difficult to return to the state of deep work again.

Strive for one hour of continuous work. When I first tried deep work, I would work deep for 20 minutes in a row, then take a short break before moving on. After a week, I kept the duration of deep work at half an hour. Gradually, I managed to work for 45 minutes to 1 hour without any breaks. This continuous and deep working state without any interference allows me to create more value in unit time, which is very valuable.

5. Tracking work with “Song Fei Strategy”

A few decades ago, Peter Drucker, the management guru, mentioned that you can’t do things that cannot be measured. The basic core of this sentence, even today, is profound.

As we keep track of our goals and progress, we will motivate our hearts and let us continue to maintain and achieve further improvement.

For me, every morning, in order to track and understand my own work progress, I will use the “Song Fei strategy”.

“Song Fei Strategy”, originated from American talk show comedian Jerry Seinfeld. He uses this method to keep creating high-quality works. Specifically, it’s very simple:

Buy or download monthly calendars

In the blank space of the calendar, write down the work you need to keep track of. As far as I am concerned, it is to keep writing for one hour every day while working in depth.

After completing this goal every day, draw a large “X” or other symbol in the box on the day of the calendar.

Keep your day on the calendar whenever possibleDraw symbols and keep them on track

If there is a break in the day due to special circumstances, you can review the number of consecutive days you have continued, and then add another day as the next uninterrupted number of days.

When you see yourself suddenly vacant for one day after so many days of persistence, this situation is very disappointing, and often it will further stimulate your fighting spirit. When I tried to give up my writing habits many times, it was because of “Song Fei’s strategy” that I persisted.

Once you stick to this method for a few months, when you look back, you will feel particularly fulfilled, which will further stimulate your determination to continue.

6. Remember to reward yourself after finishing your efficient work in the morning

If you’re always having trouble staying productive in the morning, the reason may be that other behaviors or daily habits may pay off more. Therefore, they will be further strengthened instead.

To solve this problem, you can develop a daily habit that rewards you after finishing your work efficiently every morning.

When I finish my work efficiently every morning, I will spend a minute or two standing by the window and looking out to the outside.

This is a little fun, but the important thing is that through this habit, it makes me realize that I have done my job efficiently today.

From a psychological perspective, it also has an extremely important role, allowing you to consolidate this efficient work habit, so that you can continue to work efficiently tomorrow morning.

Translator: Junyi

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