August 16, 2019

Day 1193 – Five Steps to Start the Day Early with a Plan for Success – Ask Gramps

8 minutes

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 1193 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Five Steps to Start the Day Early with a Plan for Success – Ask Gramps

Wisdom – the final frontier to true knowledge. Welcome to Wisdom-Trek where our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Hello, my friend, I am Guthrie Chamberlain, your captain on our journey to increase wisdom and create a living legacy. Thank you for joining us today as we explore wisdom on our 2nd millennium of podcasts. This is Day 1193 of our trek, and it is time for our Philosophy Friday series. Each Friday we ponder some of the basic truths and mysteries of life and how they can impact us in creating our living legacy.

As we continue on this trek called life, sometimes we have questions about life, so our Friday trek is a time when we can “Ask Gramps.” Gramps will answer questions that you would like to ask your dad or granddad, but for whatever reason, you are unable to. No matter how old we are, I know that all of us would like the opportunity to ask Dad or Gramps questions about life in many areas.

We may mix it up a bit on our Friday episodes, but we will strive to keep them down to earth and enjoyable. If you have any questions that you would like to ask Gramps, please email them to [email protected].

So the question for this week is…

“Hey, Gramps, I often have difficulties getting going and organized in the mornings. Can you provide me with a plan that will help me to establish habits which will allow me to start my day early and to be more productive?”

Five Steps to Start the Day Early with a Plan for Success

Mornings are a great time for getting things done. Of course, this is spoken from the perspective of a natural morning person. Seriously, though, you’re less likely to be interrupted than you are later in the day. Your supply of willpower is fresh after a good night’s sleep. That makes it possible to turn personal priorities, like exercise or strategic thinking, into reality.

But if you’ve got big goals and a chaotic a.m. schedule, how can you make over your mornings to make these goals happen?

Track Your Time

Part of investing your time better is knowing how you’re investing it now.

Write down what you’re doing as often as you can.

Use a simple spreadsheet, a Word/Pages document, or a pad and pen.

While measuring your mornings, track at least an entire week.

The solution to morning dilemmas often lies at other times of the day.

Observe how you are investing other times of the day that affect your mornings (i.e., interruptions, evening routines, bedtimes, etc.).

Question your assumptions: Is what you do in the morning of highest importance?

Discover what are your top priorities.

Picture the Perfect Morning

After you know how you’re investing your time, ask yourself what a great morning would look like, especially very early mornings, before work starts.

Set aside time for personal growth

Bible study & prayer

Exercise

Personal training & projects

Set aside time for professional growth

Strategize with team members.

Use your mornings to keep the vision of what you want to achieve professionally in your career and your company/organization.

Take time for online training and webinars.

Think Through the Logistics

How could the vision above mesh with your life currently?

Fill the morning hours with the most important activities.

In doing so, it will crowd out the less important time wasters.

Make sure you are clear on what is most important.

Map out a morning schedule (preferably the day before).

What time would you have to get up, and what time do you need to go to bed to get enough sleep?

As for the mornings themselves, what would make your habits easier?

It’s easy to believe our own excuses, particularly if they’re good ones.

Come up with a plan and assemble what you need ahead of time. Don’t leave it to chance.

Don’t label this vision of great productivity as impossible. Find a way to make it work.

Build the Habit – The most important step.

Turning a desire into habits requires true desire, willpower, and discipline.

Optimize your routine.

Start slowly: Go to bed and wake up fifteen minutes earlier for a few days until this new schedule seems doable.

Monitor your energy: Building a new habit takes effort, so take care of yourself while you’re trying. Eat right, eat enough, get proper rest, take time for relaxation, and surround yourself with supportive people who want to see you succeed.

Choose one new habit at a time to introduce: If you want to run, pray, and write in a journal, choose one of these and make it a habit before adding another.

Chart your progress: Habits take weeks to establish, so keep track of how you’re doing for at least thirty days. Once skipping a session or activity feels like you forgot something—like forgetting to brush your teeth—you can take your habit up a notch or add a new routine.

Feel free to use bribery:

Eventually, habits produce their own motivation, but until then, external motivations like promising yourself “playtime,” movie/concert tickets, or other fun activities can keep you moving forward.

Keep in mind that your morning habits shouldn’t be punishing.

Choose things you enjoy. Your early morning habits have the potential to become your favorite part of the day.

Tune-up as Necessary – Life changes, so we need to allow for flexibility.

Sometimes we have to regroup, but the goal is to replace habits that no longer work with new ones that make you feel like every day is full of possibility.

The amazing thing about mornings is that they always feel like a new chance to do things right. Each morning is a chance for a do-over or to continue successes.

A victory in the morning creates a cascade of success. Seek to use mornings to their fullest potential.

Psalm 119:147 – I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words.

I hope these tips will help you to start each day with a plan for success. That is a wrap for today’s question. Join us again next Friday for another question on our “Ask Gramps” episode. Our next trek is Mediation Monday, where we will help you reflect on what is most important in life. So encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along on Monday for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of the past 1192 daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all, your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

Live Abundantly (Fully)

Love Unconditionally

Listen Intentionally

Learn Continuously

Lend to others Generously

Lead with Integrity

Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you on Monday!

...more

View all episodes

By H. Guthrie Chamberlain, III