09 Nov Slow Morning Ideas While WFH

Remember this?

The alarm goes off and jolts you awake.

You jump out of bed, already feeling late and stressed.

Scramble to get out the door.

Fight the crowds to get to work.

And then we all started to WFH.

And in the midst of this new abrupt change in our lives, during the WFH honeymoon phase, we all thought

“There’s an upside to this.”

“No more commuting”

“I have more downtime.”

“I actually can spend time with my family and household again.”

“I’ll pick up that hobby I have longed to get to.”

“I’ll start that project.

“I’ll get fit again.”

The list goes on.

But somehow our realities have turned into something different.

We find ourselves on our phones first thing.

Before getting out of bed, we check our emails, send a few texts, check the news, our social media and then circle back to our emails.

We have back to back video meetings all-day long.

So much so, that we don’t have time to do our actual work.

We’re stressed.

So we wake up earlier and earlier to get a leg-up on the day.

And we are burning out.

So, what is the rush?  What happened to all of the extra time WFH has afforded us?  Are we really that busy or is this self imposed?  And if we really are that busy, what can we do about it to restore balance?

S-L-O-W  D-O-W-N

Taking a slow morning is not new, but in this COVID era we find ourselves in, it certainly is a good opportunity to embrace it and put it into practice.  It might just change your life and it goes something like this . . .

• Wake up at least 90 minutes before you are scheduled to do anything.
• Do NOT wake up to your phone or any other devices.  (Try a good old fashioned alarm clock or a light alarm that wakes you up with light instead of sound.)
• Take time for yourself
• Sip a cup of tea
• Read a little
• Or meditate
• Maybe, go for a walk
• Listen to music
• Journal
• Stretch
• If you are a creator, create something
• Spend time with your partner
• Spend time with your kids
• Exercise
• Call someone you love
• Do. Nothing.

The idea is to set a tone for the day that is grounding and calming.  While it may sound counter-intuitive, it will set up your day to make. you more productive, able to be laser-focused and actually take advantage of one of the most important things that WFH has to offer us.

Now, we’d love to hear from you and learn what you do in your mornings to counter the inclination to GO-GO-GO!