June 5, 2019 –
The first committed time of the morning is the most important time of the day. What we engage in first, determines how our day will end.
After brushing my teeth, I have breakfast: one sweet roll, a slice of cranberry-walnut bread covered with peanut butter and black coffee. Same breakfast, most mornings.
I embrace the smell, taste, and a touch of the roll, the toast, and coffee. I don’t get distracted by checking emails, reading a newspaper, listening to the radio or viewing the TV. I concentrate on the roll, the bread, and the coffee. The hot coffee awakens me; the sweet role stimulates me, and the peanut butter toast provides a “delight for the morning.
You may start the day with a shower—hot or cold—to invigorate you. The sound and feel of the water “raining” on your body may be your first activity.
Some people’s first action includes a devotional time of Bible study and prayer. They meditate on the things they are thankful for and lift other people through intercessory prayer.
For some of the most productive people, the first morning activity is some form of exercise, including jogging or walking. These events can lead to optimizing and maximizing the rest of the day. The isolation of running or walking provides a sense of being one with nature. Once we finish exercising, we are better prepared to engage the opportunities of the day.
Everyone has a first activity of the day. The important thing is not that we all start our day with some activity, but that the event sets the stage for a happy and prosperous day.
These are four key elements of the FIRST ACTIVITY OF THE DAY.
- 1. It’s a ritual. You do it every morning at the same time and place. Do this and you develop a habit of success and happiness.
- Live at the moment. Isolate your thinking to the present moment. Don’t focus on yesterday or tomorrow—just enjoy the now. You can’t change yesterday, and you can’t create tomorrow but, you can change and create your today.
- Enjoy and expect. Look forward to and enjoy the coffee, the jog, the meditation, the shower or, whatever you define as your FIRST ACTIVITY OF THE DAY. You’re in your “zone”, own it.
- It’s a positive activity that increases self-esteem. In these first few minutes of the day, you set the stage for the rest of your day. As you live in the moment—free of distractions, negativity, and anxiety—you create energy and enthusiasm for the next eight to ten hours.
Only after you have completed THE FIRST ACTIVITY OF THE DAY do you consider how you want the day to end—what will success look like? Then, from that success point, look back to the present and decide what you must do to achieve your goal.
The possibilities are unlimited when you launch the day your way! I know a cup of black coffee, a sweet roll, and a slice of cranberry-walnut bread topped with peanut butter give me more good mornings and productive days than I deserve.