I have the luxury of a 3-5 minute morning commute.
I offer the following...
1. Wake up early (5:45)
2. Make the bed (cheat...my wife does this, but I'm going to help.)
3. Coffee. Recent studies report coffee decreases mortality. "After a 16-year follow up, researchers found those who drink one cup of joe per day had a 12 percent decrease in mortality. Those who consumed two to three cups reflected a reduction of 18 percent mortality risk."
4. Morning planner. What two things have to be done today?
5. Morning stretch. Dynamic stretching 8-10 minutes.
- Hip flexion leg lifts
- Hip abduction (side stretch)
- Hip flexion (knee to chest) walk
- Truncal/neck rotation
- Shoulder rotation (circles and cross stretching)
- Jumping in place
- Hip flexion/knee flexion (butt kickers)
- Karaoke (I have about a 50 foot hallway including the family room )
6. Meditation (5-10 minutes). Refresh the mind. Chade-Meng Tan (employee #107 of Google) is an engineer and meditation resource. He advocates for having a meditation 'buddy', doing less meditation than you can (make it an indulgence not a chore), and taking one breath a day. "Take a breath." He also preaches to spend ten seconds wishing happiness to two random people a day.
7. Reading (30 minutes). I favor nonfiction as long as it's well-written. However, I recently read a non-fiction work The Handmaid's Tale and Brian McCormick's 21st Century Practice.
8. Writing. Complete/review blog entries. I edit almost every piece, seeking brevity and clarity.
Productive people cultivate productive habits. They model greatness. Tim Ferriss' Tools of Titans shares a panoply of productivity ideas and interviews with highly effective people.
Bonus:
Halfcourt shooting warmup, shooter rebounds own shot...passer runs to half court and becomes next shooter.
