Increasing Creativity and Productivity with Your Morning Routine
The sun comes up and for most of us, it’s time for work. Or is it? How you start your work day can have a huge impact on the rest of it. Your morning routine is the lynchpin for either reducing or increasing creativity and productivity.
For example, on days I meet with clients, of course I get showered, dressed, and ready to head out as soon as possible. But on days when I need to get creative work done, I start right away. And I mean, as soon as I get up.
If the very first thing I do in my day is sit at my computer with a coffee, work seems easier. I can get many writing ideas and a short article together in an hour or so. Yes, in my pajamas. Only later do I move on to getting dressed and so on.
On the flip side, If I get up, shower, get dressed, and answer all my email before sitting down to write, work doesn’t come so easily. My capacity for creative work seems to decrease as the sun rises higher in the sky.
Is it Time to Change Your Morning Routine?
If your start to the day isn’t aiding your creative work, have you thought about changing your routine? Don’t feel bad about sitting down in pajamas in front of your laptop, or not being at your desk at 9 AM sharp. You could be missing a productivity sweet spot. Some morning changes to try:
- Start creative work as soon as you get up
- Change your work start time by an hour or two
- Save work altogether for the afternoon (it could be your best time)
What morning routine do you find best for increasing creativity?
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Morning is absolutely the best time for me to get things done and I’d highly recommend people getting up early and start working ASAP. However, I do know that people work more efficiently at different times of the day so it really depends on what works best for you!
time management is the king.
As for me, i’m more to the late night works for some creative works.
Most of my morning, i started with a cup of coffee, then move on the news updates on the blog and a few updates of the world.
I am an absolute SHOCKER after lunch. That 2pm siesta time comes and I’m a gonner.
Thanks for your post, it’s made me think I need to get up earlier and take advantage of my good productive morning hours!
OMG. I have the exact SAME situation as you.
“If the very first thing I do in my day is sit at my computer with a coffee, work seems easier. I can get many writing ideas and a short article together in an hour or so. Yes, in my pajamas. Only later do I move on to getting dressed and so on.”
“On the flip side, If I get up, shower, get dressed, and answer all my email before sitting down to write, work doesn’t come so easily. ”
I do this exactly. As soon as I get up, and sit on the computer, I feel that I get more work done in the first hour, than if I had done the same thing, but first got a shower and got dressed.
Once I open my eyes in the morning, I immediately get up. I’m not the 5 more minutes kind of person. I feel like If I start my day invigorated. everything will just fall into place.
Janet,
I’m not a morning person, so if I get started at 9am in the morning and I’ve not got a to-do list in front of me I don’t get anything done.
By checking off each task I complete I stay very motivated throughout my day. It’s the only way I managed to keep going with things in the early morning.
I usually startwith the easy tasks such as processing emails, checking website analytics and visiting my online social networks.
To inspire me to be more creative in the morning, I usually read a few blog posts from others and then begin to write. I usually focus on the same blogs such as ChrisBrogan.com and Copyblogger for most of my writing inspiration.
My best approach for getting creative or high-focus work done is to wake up early and get right to it. Only way to get a 3 or 4 hour block of time without interruptions is to wake at 5am or 4am, when the house is all quiet. It is amazing how much I can get done before 8!
I used to run at 5 am. By the time I was back, showered, dressed and with my coffee I was ready to take on the day. I want to start that up again. It set the pace for the rest of my day and I felt more productive.
YES! You just hit the spot on this one. I have to admit i haven’t been on your website for a while now.. Don’t blame me! Blame the information overdose every day!! Hehe ok but to the point.
My power of creativity comes when i go to bed. It’s like the moment you discribe, the moments going out of bed and before going to bed.. Are the moments your mind is free and relaxed. Creativity as we know comes when there is room for it. So it makes sense. Although my problem is that i want to sleep but i think im going to bed a little earlier to try you theorie out. By taking the time to write al the great idea’s down in my sketchbook.
I agree with the suggestions here. There’s something about being tired, but energized that really allows me to focus. Having said that, it’s a bit difficult for me to implement them while also being the primary caretaker of a 3-month-old girl. XD
If I’m lucky, I get started about an hour after she wakes up.
I’ll do you one better. I wake up, roll over and grab my laptop, and start working before I’ve even used my legs.
A lot of times I’ll end up going back to sleep after a while.
I’m going to have to try this Travis! Usually I get up and walk to where the coffee is before I start working.
Mornings always start with me thinking about what to do for the day. After giving my daughter her bath, I then take a shower, get dressed, and start checking all of my emails, reading my favorite blogs, and leaving a Plurk message or tweet before starting my work day. It’s been okay for me so far since I’m the type of person who can’t think straight if all of these things haven’t been done before working.
When it comes to creativity, I guess that’s what I have to work on because after doing all of my client work I feel no drop of it left in my system to write an article or a post for my blog.
sometimes it’s those mornings when I can’t sleep – when I’m up at 4am anyways that I do the best work.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a morning routine because I am almost never productive in the morning. However, I do push myself in the right direction by showering and relaxing.
My most productive hours are anywhere between 3pm and 12am. The latter is the most often for me.
@Nicole – Yeah, we all have different points during the day when we are most productive. For me, it’s usually 2pm-5pm and then 9pm-12am.
Hi Nicole – sounds like you’ve discovered the right morning routine for you! I find it very interesting that many creative people work best later in the day.
I am a morning person and I often wake at 5.30am and creep downstairs and work for about an hour before the rest of the house stirs.
the factors that I know effect my creativity are;
1 if I write in my journal just before I sleep I often wake inspired by ideas, sitting down with a notebook when i wake and recording what i know means I an capture those thoughts right there. If i open my laptop first then i can sometimes be distracted by the emails and that can stop the flow of creative thinking for writing blogs etc. however they can also be the inspiration.
Morning are most def the right time for me, and they are the most creative when i journal before I sleep. so thanks for the reminder
If it hasn’t already been mentioned: No alarm clock. If you absolutely do not trust yourself there are expensive smart alarm clocks and iPhone apps that do more or less the equivalent, i.e. use the accelerometer to measure the appropriate time to wake you up. Just after a dream you get a squirt of serotonin (or dopamine? I don’t remember) which is the best time to wake up. If you wake up during delta (deep) sleep, you will feel like crap all day. Just make sure the blinds are up on an east-facing window in your bedroom and you’ll start waking up nice and early on your own. If you don’t have an east-facing bedroom window, I recommend getting one.
Also, measure your time in bigger chunks than hours. I use a four-hour “cell” which is also convenient for billing. Paul Graham incidentally came to the same conclusion around the same time I did.
Sitting down with coffee and my RSS ready is how I begin everyday. I find a lot of inspiration in the goings on in the world and the early day news boost is perfect fuel. I’ve even considered streaming my news reading via ustream to possibly engage in some morning conversations on whats going on in the design world.
Christopher,
I agree that reading RSS feeds can really provide the perfect inspiration and motivation. I like using Google Reader to feed articles into my Delicious account which I tag bookmarks as “inspiring” or “to-read”. Then I can always refer back to that set of bookmarks when I need some motivation.
I’m always most productive in the afternoon, so I try to get emails and social media socializing done in the morning so I can bang out my work later in the day.
And, I tend to be most creative as soon as my head hits the pillow – so I keep a notebook by my bed so I can quickly jot down my “big idea” and get some shut eye. LOL.
Charlie Gilkey from Productive Flourishing wrote a great post for The Mogul Mom that offers wonderful ideas for determining your most productive time and getting real about how much time you actually have. http://www.themogulmom.com/2010/02/8-ways-to-work-smarter-and-be-happier/
Heather
Productivity wise, I’ve always been a 6 to 3 guy. That’s 6pm to 3am. That said, I find that I can super charge those hours even further when I stick to no more than 5 hours sleep. Any more than 5 and my mind just turns to mush!
I’ve got an Anthony Robbins cd that I’ll listen to every now and again, and his emphasis on giving yourself that one “hour of power” first thing in the morning has been the most accurate advice I think I’ve ever put into practice.
I’m basically the same way…wake up and start working. If I shower or do anything else in between it throws off ‘my groove.’ Sometimes I do end up having to do other things right when I wake up, and it’s frustrating because I know I don’t get as much done that day, even with enough time. It will simply be because I don’t be feeling motivated or energetic.
Geez, if working as a freelancer can’t be more than de-motivating with all its ups and downs, I guess a li’l bit of good advice can do wonders. Thanks for writing this post as it reminds me that maybe, all I need is a change of scene. So, I will then go ahead and change my favorite work spot and see if I don’t become as bored as I can get. To answer your question, I do yoga or meditation before I work ( or sometimes, read a passage on this book about the law of attraction ).
I agree with the early morning vibe. I normally get up before my kids at around 6 am – earlier if I’m doing a bike club ride – and this is definitely a time when I can think clearly, prioritize and generally get things done. It’s not for nothing that the Norwegians say “Morgenstund har gull i munn” – lit. “The morning hours have gold in their mouth”, which is another way of saying that the morning hours are a special time. I’m normally wiped out by the evening, but do respond to project queries, that kind of thing, in the evening before bed. I also get some good work done by getting out of the office with my notebook and USB mobile broadband and finding a decent coffee shop.
Many mornings start with Twitter and a quick check in with my friends who are often full of energy and inspiration. I find that surrounding myself with others that are full of energy get’s my day off to a great start.
My mornings are either creative mornings or office based mornings (doing admin and phoning clients etc).
On my creative mornings, getting up early and doing exercise is the only thing that seems to get me going. By nature I’m not a morning person, so by sitting straight down to be creative I think I would run the risk of slumping over my desk and snoring!
However, by either going for a brisk walk/jog or going swimming I try to use that time to start planning and getting ideas moving. By the time I get back and sit down to do the work I’m actually feeling “in the zone”! So exercise is my motivator to getting going!
Hello Guys,
I guess to boost productivity is either excercise or morning walk can do some magic. In fresh air, can give you more idea and after walk your body will feel fresh so obviously scrwed up things from yesterday can be solved in instant. It had happened to me several times.
I find the opposite – I often sit down to the computer before I’m really “up”, usually out of guilot at how late it is. But if I manage to go for a walk round the block first, I find I have a lot more energy to think things through.
I am not a morning person. I am always so tired and can’t start work immediately. I usually start work around 11 even if I woke up at 7 or 8.
So I think my best time of the day is between 8pm – 4am. This have been a big problem because my boyfriend need to be in bed around 11pm before school.
Thanks for the comments everyone. It’s great to hear about different morning (or afternoon/evening) routines!
Is anyone else working non-traditional hours? If so, what do you like/dislike about working at night?
i wish i could say i was one of those people who did some sort of exercise in the morning, but typically my morning consists of getting the dogs out, showering, getting dressed, and getting lunch ready as fast as i possibly can. then it is straight to the coffee and poptarts (yes, almost 30 and still eating poptarts for bfast!) and i sit down to check email/news/blogs/etc before throwing the headphones on and working for the next 10-12 hours haha… as i am typing this i am realizing how routine my days have been for the last couple of years and that i need to shake things up a bit haha …great article!
How is this an article? I’ve seen forumposts that have a better opening post.
(sorry to be so mean, but 5 paragraphs is hardly an article)
I agree. 5am is it. You can get a full work day in before noon. Not just for creative work either. Any focused work that requires little interruption.
I’d rather gag myself with an umbrella than start my day with work. Why is that the first thing on the schedule? I prefer to play and then work instead of vice versa.
Great article, and some really inspiring comments!
I’m at the stage where I really need to give myself a good kick up the ass to actually start doing some work.
I really do enjoy doing what I do (freelance web design /developer), but when it comes to actually doing the work, I always find something else pops up for me to do like cutting the grass, cleaning the house, washing the car etc etc
When I do work, I find working in the early hours best for me, but I want to change this and start early in the morning, and have a full days work done for lunch time!
I think that I’m going to try and do the get up at 5am thing, take the dogs a walk, and then start into some work.
Hopefully this will help me wake up alot better and make me more motivated to work.
I am a freelance writer and an early morning waker. T
My work starts early morning at 4.00 a.m. and till 6.00 a.m. most of my work is completed.
This is the best time when your mind is fresh and your ideas will freely flow.
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