It’s morning time, again. The snooze alarm has been hit about four times and it feels as though you have been sleeping for years. You are groggy and grumpy and don’t want to leave that oh so comfy bed, but you have to.
I have been told I am a morning person, but a fun fact about me is that I have never had a cup of coffee in my life. Now don’t get me wrong, I have tried a couple of sips here and there, but it is just not for me. I love the smell of coffee though. I wonder if there is a market for selling bags of coffee-scented air? (Note to self for next blog post.)
Anyway, back to being a morning person. I don’t know why I am always chipper and excited to start the day, I just am. So I thought it might be fun to write a post that incorporates what I do daily that gets me going, and in which coffee is not involved.
1. No Time for Snoozers – I mentioned earlier about hitting the snooze alarm several times. I stopped hitting that button a long time ago. A friend of mine actually gave up hitting the snooze alarm for Lent and so I gave it a try. I found out that to get going in the morning I needed to just GET GOING. You Snooze, You Lose!
2. Educate Yourself Daily – In my job I have flexibility with my tasks that need to be done and the time frames in which they need to be completed. When I get to work I try to read and catch up on what has happened overnight or over the past couple days that I may have missed. I take an hour to read news articles from CNBC, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, and Social Media as well as share them.
3. Take a “Coffee Break” – Before you think I am being a hypocrite, just keep reading. After I spend an hour in self-education, I need to walk around a bit and grab a drink. I simply replace the coffee with either green tea or ice cold water. Both give a great morning shock to my system and I love that first sip.
4. When you “Coffee Break”, be sure to Coffee Chat – I always try to grab a P.I.C. (Partner In Crime) when I take my “coffee break”. I do this because it helps me to get to know others in my office as well as stimulate my brain with some good ol’ fashioned conversation. You don’t want to end up like Tom Hanks talking to Wilson do you?
5. Stay Busy With Tasks – Every morning I try to create a list of top to do projects. Within that list I break it down in to types of lists. One being “At Desk Projects” and the other being “At Large Projects.” When I start to feel a bit tired or doze off, I switch to an at large project which gets me mobile and moving around. When I get bored at large I switch back. My list is crucial every morning.
These are just five simple things I do each morning. Let me know some of your tips and what you do. Tweet them to me using #CorysCoffee or share a picture via Instagram. My handle is @CoryDDMiller for both. Don’t forget to connect via Facebook as well.