New Day: The Importance of Creating Space and Routine Each Morning.

We have all heard the adage, “New Year, New me”. The idea that with the new year will bring forth prosperity and an renewed sense of self is not new – in fact, it dates back to 4000 BC in ancient Babylon, where the Babylonians would make resolutions for the year in a religious ceremony preceding the planting of crops. This tradition was present in other parts of the world throughout history – as a similar practice was used in Ancient Rome and with Early Christians. Today, the idea of New Year’s Resolutions is commonplace, especially in the United States, as it is estimated that 45% of Americans make them.  

At PFD, we believe in New Year’s resolutions. In fact, it’s our job help leaders and entrepreneurs set and reach meaningful 1-Year Highly Achievable Goals (1HAGs)  so that they can make progress on their Big Hairy Audacious Goal and scale their businesses. While New Year’s Resolutions are genuinely helpful, today, I would like to focus on a much smaller period of time: the new day. At the beginning of the New Year, those who make resolutions begin with excitement and tenacity for what they can accomplish, but these feelings tend to fade rather quickly. Rather than try to sustain these feelings for a year, what if we started out each day with a similar optimism and excitement? What if we intentionally took time out of our day each morning to create a positive mindset that sets the tone for the rest of our day?

“ “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”
”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

For anyone who knows me, they know I am a morning person, so I might sound biased when I say mornings are an incredible and magical time of day. On the best days, I will get up around 4:00 AM to pray, journal, meditate, work out, and prepare for my day. When I take the time to do these things, I find that my days are exponentially better. On these days, I have more energy, I feel more centered, I plan my day better, and I am more productive. Studies show that getting up in the morning has been linked to better stability, increased proactivity, and lower rates of depression. As we end this year of innumerable challenges, we need to give ourselves a fighting chance against the stressors in our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a mental health crisis in America, and we need to be proactive in reintroducing a sense of normalcy and routine in the ways we have control. Our mornings are a great place to start.

Recently, I have read Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs, and it has reinforced my firm belief in the power of routine and the mornings. The author, Hal Elrod, recommends a six-step process to implement in a morning routine – captured in the acronym S.A.V.E.R.S.

This acronym stands for:

Silence – This is the first part of the morning that is dedicated to mindfulness. As business leaders, we can often find ourselves guilty of checking our texts and emails as soon as we turn off the alarm. Experts suggest that starting your day this way actually impedes your ability to focus throughout the day and makes you more prone to distraction. Instead, take some moments to be silent – use this time to meditate, pray, reflect, etc. This will set you up to be more productive and less stressed throughout the day. During this time of prolonged stress, reducing cortisol levels is going to be paramount to your health and wellness.

Affirmations – This step is critical to reshaping your mindset. As leaders, it can be extraordinarily challenging to maintain confidence and faith in yourself and your business, especially when we have been hit with so many unforeseeable circumstances in the past year. When we take the time to recite the goals we are committed to, as well as understand wholly that we can become the type of people to achieve those goals, the results are astounding.

Visualization – In this step, leaders should take the time to picture a compelling image of the future, and what it would look like to live out of this reality. This will give us clarity and motivation to reach this future in actuality. 

Exercise – Exercising in the morning is paramount to living a healthier life and setting the tone for a positive day. Even if you would rather do a larger work out later in the day, even a short work out in the morning could be beneficial. This has been linked to increased energy throughout the day, as well as improved nutrient uptake.  

Reading – As business leaders, we should be consistently learning to be able to improve ourselves and our organizations. So many problems we face have already been solved – we just need to find it. Devoting 15 – 30 minutes to reading in the morning can help us to learn faster so we can more effectively scale our businesses. Not sure what book to start with? Check out our monthly reading lists here.

Scribing – In other words, write. In this part, journal your thoughts for 5-10 minutes. It can be something that’s been on your mind or reflection on what you just learned. This will help you gain clarity that will carry throughout the day. In addition, you could try your gratefulness practice (write 5 things you are grateful for each day) to help reframe your mind to be more positive.

After this brilliant morning routine from Hal, my best days also include a workday startup routine. This helps me to refocus on the most important things I need to accomplish in a day so I can make the most out of my day.

This routine includes:

1.     Reviewing my preparation for the morning stand-up meeting. I will do my prep work at the end of the day before, so it usually takes a quick glance to remind myself of what I need to bring to the discussion.

2.     Writing down my tasks and my schedule for the day in my planner. After this, I choose my top three priorities for the day, ensuring that these priorities are critical, align with the metrics for which I am responsible, or will help me to make progress on my quarterly goals.

3.     Meeting with my team for the daily stand-up.

4.     Emptying my email box.

After this routine, I am caught up and prepared to embark on the day. While there is so much that is out of our control right now, it is vital that we have healthy, productive morning routines as it will drastically improve our lives.

The New Year is a chance to start fresh, as it is a time where we have energy and drive to make possible our aspirations. We can apply that same energy to each new day by implementing healthy routines that foster growth, self-improvement, health, and focus. 

Some Suggestions –

1.     Read Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod.  He goes much more into depth about how you can optimize your morning to be productive.

2.     Write down your workplace start-up routine – no more than 10 tasks that will help you feel equipped and prepared to take on the day.

3.      Schedule your morning. You don’t have to wake up at 4:00 am like me, but understanding and committing to doing different tasks at certain times will improve your intentionality with your morning.

Get Outside: How to Cultivate Resilience in Your Life by Simply Spending Time in the Great Outdoors

With winter approaching and the days getting colder, we have the tendency to want to stay inside – cozy up against the fireplace and hunker down. At PFD, we ask that you fight the urge to remain indoors, as time spent outside can have astronomical effects on our health and well-being. This can be especially helpful in this time in which stress is especially pervasive.

It should be known that we are not suggesting that we should forgo precautions against the Coronavirus pandemic, but, we know that there are ways we can safely engage in activities outside. In fact, since the Covid-19 virus is spread through respiratory droplets released into the air, studies show that you are more likely to catch this disease when you are indoors, because you are inhaling shared air. When you’re outside, fresh air is moving and dispersing these droplets, making you less likely to catch the virus. With the proper precautions (i.e. social distancing, going to non-crowded areas, practicing good hand hygiene), spending time outside can be a low-risk way of rejuvenating to be able to bring your best self to your work and your life.

THE HISTORY

There is a rich history of peoples’ connection to the land, whether it be illustrated through indigenous ceremonial practices, the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, or otherwise. I would like to highlight a specific movement, however, beginning just decades ago that aimed to study in an interdisciplinary way the connection between nature and our well-being. This study is called Shinrin-Yoku, otherwise known as Forest Bathing, and it originated in Japan. While Shinrin-Yoku can be a meditative, intentional practice with specific steps, you can experience it in its most basic form: giving yourself time to meander through the outdoors – seeing, smelling, touching, and listening to what it has to offer. Simply put: Go outside and be present to your experience there.

According to a 2001 EPA study, the average American spends 87% of their time inside a building, and 6% of their time inside a vehicle. While numbers have likely shifted over the years, they still paint a telling picture: we have created a culture in which we spend time indoors, and we have thus lost a lot of amazing benefits that the outdoors can provide us.

PFD Group Team Activities - socially distanced paddleboarding

EFFECTS OF BEING OUTSIDE

While we often feel refreshed after spending some time outside, we often underestimate the true benefits that this time can give us. We put off our time outside – making second priority to our work and the other priorities in our lives. While this is understandable, spending time outside can cause physical reactions in our bodies that can make us more present and therefore more effective in our home and work lives.

Some of the greatest benefits of being present outside (Shinrin-Yoku) are:

1. Stress reduction: Stress is linked to the production of the hormone cortisol. While this hormone is helpful to create energy and focus in short bursts, prolonged periods of cortisol-dependence can deplete our ability to be resilient. Prolonged stress can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain, etc. It can cause us to feel exhausted and more distracted. During this pandemic, economic crisis, and continued uncertainty, and it is critical we take the necessary steps to improve our levels of stress.

2. Reduced depression & anxiety: Studies have shown that as little as 30 minutes practicing Shinrin-Yoku can reduce depression. Spending this critical time outdoors can also reduce our anxiety and tension, which is critical during this time.

3. Boosted Immune system: Trees produce phytoncides, which studies have linked with strengthening our immune system. Being in proximity to phytoncides causes your body to release white blood cells – our bodies’ natural ‘killer’ cells –  by up to 50%, which can boost our ability to fight viral pathogens as well as cancer.

In my own personal life, spending time outdoors has been paramount to how I have adjusted to this “New Normal” during this pandemic. Anyone who knows me knows that in pre-pandemic circumstances, I love to travel, and you would frequently catch me on an airplane. However, with this pandemic and travel restricted, I have had to find a new past time to get me out of the house. With this, I have found that camping with my family has been transformational to maintaining my health and well-being. Instead of wishing I could still be a globetrotter, I leaned into the blessings that I did have. Without travel, I had much more time to spend with my wife and sons in the beautiful mountains of Colorado. This shifted my mindset – from one mourning the loss of travel to one where I have so much gratitude for the time that I spend with my family.

 In an era of heightened stress, unprecedented mental health crises, and a pandemic, we need to rethink how we spend our time to fight against these challenges. Spending time outside can be critical to reducing our stress, overcoming mental challenges, and boosting our immune system. While this time spent outside is not an end-all solution, it can give us a fighting chance against these challenges.

ACTIONABLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE

1. Do your research - figure out the risk levels of your favorite outdoor activities, and plan to engage in the activities that have lower levels of risk

2. Take breaks from work in the outdoors and green space. Go for a walk outside, or sit in your backyard to spend some time in nature

3. Decorate your indoor space with plants and pictures / paintings of nature – even if you can’t make it outside, incorporating greenery into your workspace can give you increased benefits as well.

4. Encourage your team to go outside. By giving your team tools to reduce their stress, you can better your workplace culture.

5. Schedule time to escape to the outdoors. We know that it is difficult to make it outside during this time, but at PFD, have created a tool that will help you schedule in and protect much needed time to recharge.