There’s one thing that almost all entrepreneurs want: to have a few more hours in a day. Impossible as it may seem, a few hacks can actually make it workable. Starting the day right with powerful morning routines can help entrepreneurs big-time.
If you are ready to know why, here are some productivity hacks used by many successful entrepreneurs to make their mornings more productive.
1. Work when others are asleep
Sallie Krawcheck, former president of the Global Wealth & Investment Management division of Bank of America, works while everybody’s sleeping. Since there’s less distractions, mornings are the best time of day to focus on ourselves. Meditate, prepare a cup of tea, or kickstart the day with a hearty meal. Pablo Ruiz, Investment Analysis & Portfolio Management at Nxtp Labs, shared in curated site Quora that he wakes up at around 5:30 or 6am to have a relaxed breakfast or write stuff for company website. Doing errands while the rest are asleep can also help mom-preneurs maximize their time. Mary Kathryn Johnson, author and entrepreneur, wakes up about an hour before her kids get up for school.
2. Exercise
Be it yoga, running, or whatever you find sustainable, exercise can be very helpful in countless ways. President Obama does morning exercises to clear his head and release stress. Andy Tiffany, Cofounder of LaunchSky, does some bodyweight squats and pushups to get the blood flowing. Don Peppers, an American business executive and author, gets up and works out before the workday begins, no matter what time zone he’s in. Mattan Griffel, the CEO of accelerated online education company One Month, spends fifteen minutes or so doing nine stretches as part of the Starting Stretching program. Griffel said this warms up his body while his brain doesn’t want to function.
3. Visualize how you make your day
This also reminds us of the late Steve Jobs, who used to ask himself this question every morning: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” Tony Robbins, the self-help and personal development expert, said a morning routine should involve 10 minutes of thinking of everything you’re grateful for: in yourself, among your family and friends, in your career, and the like. Once it’s done, envision “everything you want in your life as if you had it today.”
4. Read
Aspiring entrepreneurs educate themselves on the business they propose to undertake. Hua Wang, an entrepreneur and world traveler, spends her mornings reading The Wall Street Journal, theSkimm, and Fast Company. She believes in being on top of the news in order to be on top of her game. Many other successful people also start the day reading the news. Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger is devoted to The Economist while the company’s CEO Warren Buffett reads a hefty list of world news.
5. Make family time
Many business leaders spend their mornings having breakfast with their families or taking the kids to school. Liberty Media Corporation’s CEO Greg Maffei said he eats breakfast with his wife and kids before driving his older boys to the bus stop before 8am.