The Importance of Priming Your Day

• Author: Dave Poltorak •

Table of Contents

The Importance of Priming Your Day

This may seem obvious, but it's important to write it down as it's sometimes very hard to do. I need a reminder of why I'm doing it:

The What

Wake up an hour before your children every day. Prime your day by making a start on the most important thing. Defeat the inertia of building your gradient by working when demands on your time are at a minimum and your cognitive ability is at its maximum.

The Why

I have young children. When we wake up, it's their time. I want to be fully present with them until they are at nursery.

By the time we have them there and we are back home (I have twins, by the way), the house is a mess,

I'm stressed, and my energy needs to go in several different directions at once. We've got to clear up, feed ourselves, probably shower (before we forget to), and by the time I'm finally at my desk, it's hard to get into a deep flow.

Unless... I'm just continuing my flow. If I'm already on a roll, and the pen is already on the paper, boom—off we go.

How can I do this? Well, you've already read the what: by having already worked for an hour that morning on the thing.

Not only is my gradient already built for the day, but before I even greet my kids, I've won. #victory

I greet my children with a big smile (and a cup of delicious single-origin black Americano) and know that I've already made progress on something. Now I can be present with them.

I get outrageously more done in a day if I've woken up and started something. I now can't not do it—it's a real problem 😝

How I Do It

I wake up an hour before my children do, spend two minutes in an ice-cold shower, and then immediately sit in the sun or in front of a Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) light.

(I live in the UK, so you know... normally the light.)

Then I build/write/journal/read/practice/learn—whatever is the most important that day. What's going to move the needle?

I've tried to exercise, but that's just not for me. I need food in me for this. But by already having done an hour's deep work, I make more time later in the day for exercise.

This works really well for me. I've found that I have a more analytical mind in the morning compared to a more emotional one in the evening. This won't be true for everyone, and I work remotely, so I'm at home and don't need to think about public transport or getting in the car.

Oh, and I'm getting a lot more sunlight in the morning now, which is very good to set your circadian rhythm. This means I also sleep better (as long as the little ones let me), which reminds me:

Be Kind to Yourself

You aren't going to be able to do this every day.

Life just won't let you:

Don't panic. Don't kick yourself. Be kind.

Aiming for perfection will only make you unhappy.

Aim for consistency in never regretting that you are doing it and never miss twice (don't give up because you've missed once).

Closing Remarks

I'm going to continue doing this, even on the weekends, as long as I'm in the right place to do so and it's helping me deliver value.

P.S. - I wrote this (as Morning Pages) an hour before my kids woke up. 😉

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