Year One Case Study: How a Morning Routine Impacts Your Business
Confession: I have not read The Miracle Morning or the book about what entrepreneurs do before 8am.
Here's the thing that I think trips up most entrepreneurs...or should I say the ones who work from home - our schedules. Most of us had to be at school by at least 8:15am for years (1st-12th grade), then some of us went to college and got to choose our own schedule, and then we may have started out working a 9-5. My last job started each week with staff meetings and had 2 monthly large office meetings. I had bosses I reported to and clear objectives for each week. But then all that changed.
When I left my day job, my time became my own. I didn't have a start or end time and how I spent my hours was totally up to me. If I wanted to work from bed, I could. If I wanted to watch Netflix all day I could do that too.
But I also knew what I needed to do. Call it putting a lot of pressure on myself to work 40 hours on my business each week or call it drive, but the first thing I did was set up a separate work space for myself and get up at the same time as I used to for work. I decided that I still needed to "go in to work" mainly to make sure I didn't sleep the day away. So today I'm breaking down my typical morning - back when I first started.
My Original Entrepreneurial Morning Routine
7am
I would wake up by 7am and start the coffee, because coffee is necessary. After that I spent time in the Word and doing my quiet time while my roommates got ready for work. There was no need for me to run a shower at the same time as they did, so that came later....and later and later!
8:30-9am
My goal was to be at my desk by 8:30-9am just like when I had to be at work. My parents will be the first to tell you, I can get so distracted in the mornings, so I really wanted to start this work-from-home thing off right.
9am-12am
I would immediately start working on client work, answering emails, scouring Facebook groups for clients, scrolling social media. Occasionally I would break for food or laundry, but I tried to fill every single hour with business stuff. I mean, I needed to fill 40 hours right?
Wrong.
We don't have to work 40 hours each week if we don't want to, but without a strategic plan, you'll be working all hours of the day.
The more comfortable I got with my work, the later I would let myself sleep in (because I was also staying up super late working). This summer, I decided that I wanted to try to shut off work when my roommates got home each day. I still work a part-time job, so that can change my hours each day, but if I started every day the same way, I could get a lot accomplished!
My Summer Morning Routine
7a
Jesus and coffee on the front porch. This is always such a great way to start my day and now that the weather is getting cooler, I'm enjoying it even more.
8am
At my desk for working. I decided to spend the first few hours finishing up loose ends from the day before. And I wanted to spend time "at the social water cooler" - you know Facebook and Instagram.
10am
This is when I would begin to contact clients if I needed anything from them. Waiting until later allows for them to have their mornings back and not feel like I'm rushing them.
12p-1p
One thing I've been working on personally is eating lunch. Whether at the kitchen table or back porch, I know it's so important for me to eat real food. Our health is important folks. I had a dietician on the blog to talk about this exact topic, and you can check that out here.
4p
Time to shut it down. And speaking of being healthy, I joined a gym a while back and this spring I would go at 10a or 11:30a during the week. Mainly because I liked the trainers at those times and I felt ready to tackle the rest of the day. I would get back and eat and then work until late. But this summer a friend mentioned that she likes to go at 4 or 5 to signal that her day was over and I LOVED that idea so over the summer this became my new routine.
This routine worked really well, but I hired someone to help me with marketing and videos and realized I needed time to work on MY business and not just do client work. Since I still don't want to contact clients before 10am if I don't have to, I've decided to adjust my morning routine these next few months and see how things go.
My Newest Morning Routine
5:30-6a
Getting up earlier because I'm nannying 1x-2x a week and I'm trying to go to bed earlier.
6-6:30a
Jesus + coffee.
6:30-7a
I've decided to try to start working out more from home to save some money these next few months, so while I finish out my gym contract, I'll be doing some at-home workouts. The key for me here is to create a space in my house for this. We have a spare TV in a room we barely use and I'll be moving my weights from one room into that room and leaving my Bible near my yoga mat. I heard somewhere (on one of the million podcasts I listen to, so I can't give credit) that the way to change habits is to change your environment. I'll let you know how this one goes
7-8a
This hour will be spent getting dressed for the day and eating breakfast. Since I'm working out either early in the AM or later in the afternoon, there is no reason for me to not be prepared. I've never really been the type to leave the house in sweatpants or I guess now yoga pants, unless I'm going to the gym. Yep even in college for my 8ams, I "got dressed" for class. I just don't feel 100% myself without getting ready for the day.
8:30-10a
If I'm not nannying, this time will be spent focusing on my business - finishing a course, recording video, writing a blog post - whatever is on my laundry list for the day. If I am nannying, this will start around 9:30a once the little is asleep and the big is at school.
10a-12p
Getting ahead with my clients is my number one focus for these next months. None of us really want to work over the holidays, so being intentional with my time is crucial.
I know this seems pretty intense, but if you want your business to grow, you have to do things that may seem a bit intense. For me, I know I can be the best contractor my clients have if I run my business like a business and not like a hobby. There are times when I don't follow these plans - traveling during the week, working my PT job or going to a Braves game on a Wednesday at noon. But my business has grown this year and I know it will continue to grow because I operate this way. If I work later at night, it's because I want to or I'm filling up my Pinterest or Buffer queues.
Oh and on other thing, I see all the time where business owners ask "do y'all get pushback from your family and friends about what you do?" My answer has always been "Nope, everyone {to my knowledge} is super supportive - even if they don't get what I actually do." A full post on this is coming later, but by taking my business seriously, my family and friends do to.
How do you start your day?