I have always heard that writing in the morning is the best thing you can do. Morning time is a time for production, not consumption, because that is when the mind has reached peak performance.
As I have spoken about before, I am a creative junky. I love the thrill of the journey, each step toward creating something new. Each word. Each brush stroke. Each mile. It is all so intoxicating because it's a point I have not reached yet in my life. Before I write in the morning (keeping in mind the term 'morning' is subjective; for me, that can be until about 1 PM) I always make a list of things I need to do. Some are easy, some are a bit more time consuming. Writing, meditating and yoga always make it to the top of the list as things that need to get done ASAP. Usually after I make my list of things to do, I meditate on it. I move on it (meaning, I do some of my favorite Vinyasa, or flow, yoga) to strategize and power through how I plan to complete each task. I cannot speak enough about the importance of understanding not only your body and how it moves and reacts through an entire day, but also the correlation between that and productivity. My best example is that I will not work out in the morning unless it is after 10 AM, and I will not do any sort of creative writing around 3PM because my mind will not be there and I will not be present. It has only been in the past year that I began to make lists. I keep a journal, I keep a planner, I have an online to-do database (TickTick) and I readily use my iPhone's calendar. Adulting can be hard. Especially for college students or teenagers that are beginning to take on more responsibility. I remember my grandmother berating through my room and scolding me for having clothes on the floor. She would repeat her mantra: "Everything must have a home." And I did not realize how right she was. Every task has a place in the planner, every book and notebook and sweatshirt have a home within a room. Taking the time to return them to that home is what I found has made me so successful in the past year. The time it takes to plan and organize will cut down the time it takes to complete the task by half. Another grandmother quote: "Perfect planning prevents piss poor performance." I could not agree more. I can readily speak to the importance of this for young adults, young professionals, college students, and high school students. If I could go back and do anything over again in high school it would to be more organized and more put together. It would have changed the way I see the world earlier, and I would have gotten to where I am now much sooner. But, ya live and ya learn. Writing, organizing and executing on a daily basis can be hard. Especially when I am tired. I think pushing through, doing some yoga, or just practicing some mental toughness in those times can go a long way. It's character building and a skill that will definitely be needed in the future.
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Author: Allyson DitizioGeographer, yogi and occasionally creative writer. Archives
September 2016
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