I'll roll out of bed around 6:30 and sit in the lawnchair in the backyard with coffee and laptop. I try to go with any waking thought I have, maybe note it in a wiki. Take a quick glance at the calendar. Then a shot of Techmeme and ego feeds in Newsgator. Skim unread Gmail and then I'm done scanning. More coffee. Turn on IRC, so I'm effectively in the office. I'll try to dive deep into something before the kids wake up, maybe a blog post like this, start my daily internal blog post or plow through email. Sometimes it is a call with Europe. What I write may go unfinished before I take my daughter to school. Then I have a good half hour at the office before it starts buzzing.
Not that it is terribly effective, but I've never been much of a morning person and that's my routine. Jim Citrin surveyed 20 CEOs and executives from F500 companies with the same question, and got how they tap the power of their morning routine. Go read the details, but the tips are:
- Start early
- Get a jump on email
- Exercise every morning
- Be thoughtful about the source, form and timing of your news
- Problem solve
- Make family time
- Be creative with your morning routine
Now the cult of the CEO isn't the best source for tips, but they are good stories about habits of effective and busy people.
What's your morning routine?
