A few weeks ago, one of my students reached out, looking for content in our member portal.
I saw the email within a few minutes and answered quickly.
Her response made me smile…
“OMG Chantl, you have a full-time job, homeschool your daughter, and run Thrive Lounge on the side. How are you actually doing ALL of this?!”
If you’re wondering how in the world people on the internet can juggle full-time jobs, families and low-stress internet businesses, I’m dishing it all out today.
THE BIG SECRET?
I’ve built up morning rituals that allow me to balance it all without losing my mind.
Seriously, when you start your morning right, the rest of your day falls into place. :)
These habits create space for Thrive Lounge without sacrificing my full-time job or daughter’s education.
Sounds simple, but it WORKS.
So, are you looking to start a side hustle?
Maybe you already have one, but can’t find the time to give your business baby the love and attention it deserves?
Grab a pen and paper, my friend. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to set up your day with purpose to make space for what you really want.
How to Create Productive Morning Rituals
The key to building your dream while working full time and thriving at life is to start each day with intention and purpose to be as actively productive as possible.
You control your day, not the other way around!
SWITCH TO AN OLD SCHOOL ALARM CLOCK
How do you spend the first minutes of your morning?
Mine used to look like this:
Turns phone alarm off. Checks Facebook and Instagram. Dives into emails.
… I used to lose at least 20 minutes of my life every morning!
If you have your phone right next to the bed, your morning likely looks just like this, too.
The temptation to go down the ‘notification rabbit hole’ is too great if the first thing you see is your phone.
So instead of using my phone as an alarm, I switched to an old school alarm clock and leave my phone in the basement when I go to sleep.
That one change allowed me to intentionally choose what I do in the morning.
BUILD YOUR HYDRATION ARSENAL
I’m a coffee-in-the-morning kinda girl, and if you are too, then you’re going to love this quick tip.
While my coffee’s brewing each morning, I fill up 4 reusable 20-ounce water bottles so they’re ready for me when I need them. It might seem silly, but I work so intensely that I didn’t have time to wait at the refrigerator to get a glass of water, which led to serious dehydration during the work day.
You already know that staying hydrated is key to higher energy throughout the day. By filling reusable water bottles in advance, you can always grab a bottle and go with minimal interruption to your work.
DO YOUR HIGH IMPACT WORK FIRST
This one’s easy.
When you do your most impactful work first, you’ll make progress towards your goals faster and everything else feels so much easier.
It’s all about making bigger progress in a shorter amount of time.
SET YOUR NON-NEGOTIABLES
Your non-negotiables are things you choose not to do so that you can make more space for things you’d rather do.
What I’m not doing is:
spending my morning making things look pretty.
designing logos.
editing to perfection, etc.
But I am okay with...
…not waiting until something is 100% perfect. <-- Yes, you read that right.
If there’s an email I don’t 100% love, I send it out anyway! Why?
Because not everything has to be ‘knock it out of the ballpark’. Otherwise, I wouldn’t make any progress.
Some weeks are going to be phenomenal. Others average. And sometimes you send out a bad thing.
Showing up every day and doing your best is the key to moving forward and making PROGRESS. No one will care about your perfect logo when your lessons are changing their lives.
Take That First Step
Any new routine or habit will take some adjustment. By creating the space, making the time, and doing the work, you’ll be amazed at what you’re able to do.
Get that side hustle started, write that book, take that course. Whatever dream has been on the back-burner, bring it front and center!
Ask yourself this: Does how you spend your mornings reflect who you want to be or how you want your day to go?
If not, upgrade your morning routine, hit more goals, and increase productivity, all with confidence and purpose. Go get it!
Drop a comment below: What’s your biggest morning time waster?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cyrene is a fun and accomplished workshop facilitator, learning and development guru and Human Resources professional. Being at the helm of Thrive Lounge has been a long-time dream. Through vision board workshops she plans to accomplish two-way learning. Sharing her vast years of knowledge to motivate and encourage others; while simultaneously getting the reward of great energy, ideas and questions to ponder back from each group. A super win-win. Please join our Thrive Lounge community so you too can benefit!
