5 Things to Avoid First Thing in the Morning

The morning is a critical time of day.  You're either spent or totally focused.  You love it or loathe it.  Wherever you are in the spectrum, we can all agree that mornings are important.  

For productivity-minded folks, the morning hours are vital to getting the most out of a day.

Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the evening. -Gandhi

So how should you begin?  That's a loaded question for sure.  To help in the process, we might want to consider listing a few actions that are not helpful at the start of your day.  These include:

1. Shopping- shopping is necessary but try and avoid it first thing in the morning.  Shopping moves our hearts towards objects rather than towards the day ahead of us and the people we serve.  
2. Negative reading- whatever is "negative" in your book, try and avoid it.  This could include dark literature or even current events.
3. News- let's face it: the news can be depressing.  Bad stories sell papers but that doesn't mean that you have to start your day with it.
4. Email- I think that email needs to be addressed early in the day but not necessarily first thing.  Email sucks you in to work rather than keeping your mind clear and focused on getting grounded to begin your day.
5. Too much talking- journaling is very useful as a day starter but don't do all of the talking.  Make sure to allow some time to just sit and listen: to God, nature, the stirrings inside of your own heart.

What types of activities do you avoid at the start of your day?

Photo courtesy of KS