Guest Post

Are you one of those people who can’t seem to get things right until you have had your cup of coffee?  Maybe you’re one of those people who can’t focus until sometime after lunch.

Well, if you are reading this article you no doubt have a desire to get more things accomplished while most people are still walking around in their bunny slippers and pajamas.

Being productive early in the morning can be tricky because productivity usually requires energy and focus; which is what people tend to lack when they first get out of bed.

From my own experiences, I have learned that waking up early is the best way to start your day off right and get a ton of things done in the process.

I used to sleep in late and now I am often awake at 3am getting things done while most people are still sleeping.  The key is learning how to focus and apply that focus to a particular task.

Replace Bad Morning Habits

The way you start your mornings can set the tone for the rest of your day.  So why not be effective early so you can carry that momentum with you throughout the day?

Rolling out of bed and dragging yourself through your morning routine just makes it harder for you to get your day going.

But, I’m sure you already know this.  So why is it so hard for us to be productive when we wake up?  Well, there are many reasons why it’s so difficult.

One of the reasons is because most people haven’t made a habit of getting out of bed and being productive.

There might be some things that have crept into your morning routine that may be stunting your morning productivity.

These things may not seem like a big deal but they can drain a lot of your time and energy that could be directed towards something that will produce a better result.

This approach is similar to trying to trying to improve your eating habits.

Experts suggest that you should begin to replace certain foods in the meals you are already eating.  For example, replace a slice of cake after a meal with a cup of yogurt.

The same technique can be done with your early morning productivity.

If you have a habit of checking Facebook just a few minutes after you wake up, and end up spending a half hour reading the news feeds, you may want to replace those 30 minutes with something that will produce a better result.

Maybe you can answer emails, pay some of your bills online, or even organize your day.

Before you know it, you will have developed a habit of doing things in the morning that are beneficial for you and what you have planned for you day.

Get Your Rest

If you are a night owl, you may have a problem getting things done first thing in the morning.

Not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to your productivity.  Studies have shown that sleep deprivation can lower performance and alertness by as much as 32%.

Not getting enough sleep can also impair your memory and your cognitive ability.

The amount of sleep required may vary from person to person but most experts agree that 8 hours is the average.

Learn how much sleep you need to be fully rested for your day and become disciplined going to bed early enough to get the right amount of sleep required.

Plan the Night Before

It’s a big request to ask your tired brain to develop an action plan first thing in the morning.

That’s why its much better to develop that plan before you go to bed the night before.

Planning the night before not only gives you a clear understanding of your goals for the following morning, it gives you an opportunity to look at what your priorities are.

What I mean by this is that you will most likely do what is most valuable for you when you wake up at a time when you would much rather be sleepy.

If exercising early in the morning is important to you, then you will most likely be disciplined enough to go to be earlier than you used to.

Add something enjoyable as well as beneficial to your morning routine.  Plan for it the night before so that you will have something to look forward to.

Having it as a part of your morning will make you more likely to jump out of bed instead of rolling out.

One Task for One Time Period

You may be one of the people who believe that they just cannot get out of bed any earlier that you are currently waking up.

Fair enough, but let me challenge you to do the one thing that might make a difference.

Try waking up just fifteen minutes earlier than you are currently getting out of bed.

Select one task, just one, that is beneficial and take those 15 minutes to do it.

It can be anything from reading a chapter in a book or doing 50 situps.  As long as its something beneficial to you.

Once your fifteen minutes are up, you may still have the desire to go back to sleep.  That’s perfectly fine.

What you will find is that after a week of so of doing this, the desire to go back to sleep will slowly begin to fade.

The reason is because waking up and being productive will become your new “normal”.

Productivity Snowballs

Keep in mind that productivity has a snowball effect.  Once you begin to produce, you tend to keep on producing.

I wake up around 3 am several times a week.  This started with an experiment that I conducted to see if I could truly improve my productivity with my online business.

Not only was I productive with my writing, I was more productive in everything that I did.

I had urges to clean my kitchen and living room, my workouts were more intense and focused and I was more productive at work.

It was amazing!  If you can start your day with productivity then that trend will follow you throughout your day.

This guest post is by Ralph Jean-Paul. Ralph is the main writer for his blog Potential 2 Success which is a result-driven personal development blog. He is also a monthly contributor for 2 other popular personal development blogs. Along with being a writer, Ralph is also a speaker and entrepreneur. For more from Ralph visit Potential2Success.com