Your AM/PM Routine

Sunrise, Sunset

The spring birds have been waking me up earlier and earlier over the last few weeks, along with the sunlight seeping through the blinds. Being a morning person, I welcome the invitation to rise earlier than felt natural during the winter months. This necessitates, however, that I go to bed earlier, as I do like my sleep.

Something this simple —what time you get up and what time you go to bed— significantly impacts everything you do. That’s because to accomplish and to enjoy anything, you need ENERGY. How you begin and end each day either sustains you or drains you. Examining your AM/PM routine is worth doing for another reason. In addition to having more energy, it is a question of effectiveness: directing your energy.

Directing Your Energy

AM Routine — How do you spend that precious window of time before work each morning? The very first things you do every day can set you on a powerful course. In as little as 15 minutes or as much as an hour you can: eat breakfast, stretch, meditate, plan your day or exercise. What is the activity that you’d like to make a regular part of your morning routine?

Once you’re at work, be aware of your warm-up activities, i.e., the series of things you do before digging into your first important task. Are they setting you on a productive course? I realized recently that I was spending too much time on e-mail in the morning and that it was taking me away from higher priorities. I’ve adjusted that now.

Take back your power. Rather than dismissing small windows of time, realize the potential they hold and direct your energy where you want it to go.

PM Routine — Just as how you start the morning positions you for the day, how you end the day is equally important. Take a conscious moment to end your workday mentally and transition to the evening. Acknowledge what you accomplished (even if it is less than you intended), plan the following day, and let today’s work go.

Instituting a soothing ritual before bed will signal your body and mind to relax and invite a restful night’s sleep. Your ritual might include: turning off the TV and washing up at a certain time, reading a few pages of a book, listening to a guided meditation or some relaxing music, and, as you turn out the lights, recalling something for which you are grateful.

The Best AM/PM Routine For You

What would you like to alter in your AM/PM routine this Spring/Summer?

This Week:

• Identify one thing to remove or add to your routine that energizes and empowers you.
• Pay special attention to the very first hour and the very last hour of your day.