I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to be creative in the morning. Deep and meaningful thoughts don’t come to me until at least 12 ounces of coffee.
But I also can’t afford to diddle my morning away on blogs and YouTube videos. I need to get some work done. And once you’ve tasted the forbidden fruit of finishing your work by noon, you have to taste more.
So I’ve found the key to hitting my stride is to stack my day. I stack my mornings first with easy wins. This is when I add tweets to my buffer, add new photos to Mopho.to, and clear my inbox—turning every actionable email into an item on my to do list.
I keep ticking off small items in my to do list until I’m done with the no-brainers. Then I get to tackle the good stuff.
I’ve found this system is good for a few reasons. First, it’s a short process. I can usually knock out the bulk of my list in about an hour. I feel massively productive and encouraged.
Then, I find I still have an hour or two left in my morning to tackle the creative stuff. By then I’m awake, motivated, and ready to destroy the last bits of my to do list.
On a good day I’ve finished my work by lunchtime. On a bad day I have four hours in the afternoon to devote to a couple projects. Not too shabby.
That’s how I’ve found I can be creative even when I hate mornings. How have you seen it work for you?
Awesome post! What apps or project management system have you found that helps you out to get the most done?
Thanks! I’ve tried a bunch…but really I just use the Reminds app that comes with Mac OSX and Evernote. Evernote keeps my thoughts, Reminders keeps my to do list. I’ve found when I have too many options for organization I spend too much time developing a system and never actually use it.
Evernote has saved my skin more times than not! Those mornings are what get to me though, so I know what you mean.