Magical Mornings * Getting my Groove Back

{property of Disney's "Emperor's New Groove" movie...and all that proper photo reference protocol!}

I can relate, little buddy.....I can relate.

Mornings are the beginning of a brand new day - it's pretty important to kick-start ourselves early so that the rest of the day can flow together easier.  We have two choices in the morning:  1.) Cry about having to get out of bed, resist, and complain or 2.) Get up cheerfully and get moving.  I'm done fighting the morning groggs - I want to get moving! {jazz hands}  I want more purpose, I want to be more productive, and I want to have more time to do things I want to do instead of the constant housework.  The key to this?  Mornings.  How you treat your mornings can most definitely affect the rest of your day/week/month.  

SO...I came up with my own personal morning/day worksheet.  I've been testing my new methods all week and I am living proof that lazy people can be productive, have a clean house, and be more focused! haha.  There is hope out there for us, girls!  It's been interesting for me to see that I need two things to make my day productive:

MORNING HABITS.

EXERCISE.

I'm lost without them.

And, interestingly, I'm a happier person with them.

Now don't get me wrong---I don't LOVE being chained to a schedule.  I'm not a die-hard routine person - I thrive on spontaniety.  But as human beings, we need routine or some way to keep us from wandering too far from where we should to be.  I know this - I've got the attention span of a gnat and whenever there's the next big 'organizational productivity' idea, I pay attention for, like, a minute, and I'm over it.  

Knowing this about myself, I tailor-crafted something that is working marvelously. Wanna join me?!  

LET'S DO SOMETHING TOGETHER!!!

WHAT DO YOU DO IN THE MORNINGS?

We're going to smooth out the mornings - who doesn't want more smoothness?  (my husband does, that's for sure...this 'no-leg-shaving-in-the-winter-thing must be annoying...)  And then we're going to share our successes with one another!!  Doesn't that sound like fun?  We'll get to know other women, share our stories, and make some morning magic.

As for my plan - here goes.  You don't have to use this, but I've made it available in the event that you want to try it out.  And FIRST THINGS FIRST:  You're going to have to go to bed earlier so you can wake up a little earlier.  This isn't hard.

This is the worksheet I created for myself.  Feel free to use it, adjust it, copy/tweak it - whatever helps you out the best.  You can even just keep a notebook and customize your morning that way.

DOWNLOAD .PDF LINK HERE

(it takes a minute or two)

Here's what I've been using - it's a plastic 'report' file folder with a locking mechanism that holds everything in place.  (and you don't have to hole punch it! {gasp!} genius, I know)  Got it at Wal-Mart.  

About my list:

The idea is that you print ONE FOR EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!  To go along with it, make sure to print off a grocery list too - they go hand-in-hand with staying organized.

FIRST: Your To-Do list.  Start out simple.  Don't fill up your to-do list with very many things.  Sometimes over-planning can be counterproductive---and that's not what we're trying for here.  Only list the critical items on your to-do list than can reasonably be done in one day.  I also made a little space for dinner that day.  For me, it seems like that is always the big question, so if I know ahead of time what I'm doing, it's easier to move forward.

SECOND:  Goals by the end of the week.  What is one or two things you want to have accomplished within this week?  When you see this list, and if you have some spare time, you can start working on these things and have it all done by the end of the week. You don't always have to have this filled out, but it can help you get more stuff done.

THIRD:  Room Tackle.  Pick one room each day to completely clean/detail.  If that room is small, pick two small rooms or some kind of combination that you can handle easily.

FOURTH: Daily items.  These are just suggestions - you can always customize this.  If you're not very religious, then maybe you could have some meditating or journal time to yourself briefly each morning.  As for the physical activity, this is a must.  Whether you just need to do some stretching to wake yourself up, or whether you have a specific time to go to the gym like I do, make sure to fit it in somewhere.  It's proven that people who exercise in the mornings tend to actually make it happen as opposed to people who put it off until evenings.  Good intentions don't help you at all.

FIFTH:  Treat yourself!  I don't mean with food - but with little happy things.  Treats can be a few minutes on the computer, some yoga, a good book, some music, or whatever else makes you happy.  

MOST IMPORTANTLY:  Work hard at it, but don't push yourself too hard---you'll be exhausted and burn out quickly.  Like I said before, if you go to bed earlier, you can wake up earlier and get a big kick-start before the rest of the world has time to catch up to you.

By following my list, I've accomplished more of the "little things" than I would have otherwise.  I have stayed on-task better, and, most importantly, I wake up to a clean kitchen every single day!!  It's pretty awesome!

So I want to hear from you!  Whether you follow my format, or whether you have your own, I'd love to share it with everyone else.  {abbywelker(at)yahoo(dot)com}  Don't forget some photos and a brief bio!