Motivation Monday. It's like an epidemic isn't it? If you look at your Instagram or Facebook accounts on today, I guarantee you won't have trouble finding a "Motivation Monday" quote or saying. It helps temporarily get out of that "Monday Funk", but as the week goes on it tends to get more difficult up until "Hump Day" {insert camel pic} before it gets better. Now is not the time to panic {It's only Monday for heaven's sake}! The best way to start your week is not just with nice saying, but with strategy.
Having a game plan will make your entire week more productive and less stressful. Here are some tips to get you started:
Plan your day out based on your top priorities, and act on that list in an efficient order. When planning out your attack, consider geography to reduce drive time, what time places are open you need to get to, and even what time you are most productive at each specific task you need to get done. Maybe you are a blogger and have your best creative thoughts in the middle of the night. So what are you doing with your laptop and OJ, zoning out into the black hole of your screen this morning!? Put it down, back away, and grab your gym bag already.
Get rid of time wasting distractions. One trick I learned to make myself more productive as an entrepreneur was to make a list of "money wasting" vs "money making" activities to help organize my brain and put things in perspective. What would qualify as a time waster? Well, anything that does not directly help you meet one of your goals. Maybe your time wasters are hours on social media, trolling the Realestate market, cars for sale, or rabbit holing the YouTube vortex of cat videos and DIY laundry detergent. Set aside specific times for the tasks that make you money, give you more time, and meet your goals. Give yourself an allowance for "money wasting" activity {if needed} to decompress a bit, but set a timer for yourself so that it doesn't get out of hand. Make time work for you not, not slip away from you! The powah is yours.
Reduce your hat exchange frequency. What I mean by this is that many of us wear several "hats", or have several roles throughout the day. You might play the role of "mommy or daddy", office manager, chef, finger painter, runner, gardener, surgeon, powerlifter, yogi, firefighter, lawyer, boot camper, dancer, booty wiper, waitress, and/or human milk machine. You get the point, but every role we play requires a different mind set, a different way we carry ourselves, and maybe even a different location or wardrobe. When we try to cram in one role right after the next or flip back and forth between roles through out the day, it is not only exhausting, but we also don't perform as well at each task! To make the most of your time and allow you to be the best at each role you have to take on, plan your day out so that you can get as many things done in one role before you change to the next role. For example: in my life, I start my morning as "mom", but I change right into my gym clothes with a bagged packed with another set of gym clothes and a business casual set. I drop the kids off at school, go work out in my gym clothes, then see patients in gym clothes, complete paperwork for those patients at the gym, while it’s on my mind. I film my videos for social media for that same audience during that time. Then to switch gears, I shower at the gym and change into business casual. I am ready to do marketing for my practice, or I can change out hats now that I've changed clothing and could see home health patients. I could stay in that same outfit and give a presentation. You get the point. The other set of work out clothes is for at the end of the day, when I am just ready to change back into comfy clothes. It's time to put the mom hat back on, leave work behind, and pay attention to my family.
Of course, there is the reality of life and everything is not going to run smoothly every day. Kids get sick, a patient reschedules, or you have a specific time to be at an event, but having a plan of attack for the week can reduce so much stress! If you prioritize your activities, strategize your day including what activities are not worthy of your time, and pack your bag {and your brain} for the various roles you have to play throughout the day, you will achieve more and feel good doing it! Happy Motivation Monday....now get to it!
Dr. Ashley Romine, DPT
Owner / Physical Therapist
Athlete’s Mechanic, LLC
Want more daily motivation? Watch videos of stretches, exercises and more by following along at instagram.com/dr.ashleyromine.