Life Will Continue Apace ….the Case For Not Checking Your Phone As You Awaken

“Don’t freak out but yesterday I had to go to the emergency room. I was cutting open an avocado and the knife sawed straight into the wedge between my index and middle finger. I saw my bone and blood was spurting everywhere and my roommate Paulina came downstairs just as I was about to faint. She called a taxi and we went to hospital. 6 stitches!”

This WhatsApp message greeted me last Monday morning. It was from my daughter Victoria who had moved to London the prior week to pursue her Master’s degree. She knows me well … she knew I would freak out (which mother wouldn’t?). But I didn’t. To my amazement, my reaction was calm, philosophical even, so that I could reply:

“I love your roommates … exhale please … life will continue apace whether u rush or not”

For days I wondered how I had been able to respond in this very atypical way. Then it dawned on me – over the last 6 weeks, I have committed to a daily morning practice that takes a good hour or so BEFORE I check my technology. It is me-time, when I take care of my body (yoga), mind (reading, journaling) and spirit (meditation). There are days when I awaken not feeling to do this practice, even whilst knowing that my day will be immeasurably better if I do. Those are the mornings when I press the snooze button and have a back and forth with myself about why this morning, and just this morning please-please-please, I should invite in the world first thing. Thankfully, the wiser me wins in that moment: “Just go take your shower Marguerite, and then you can check in on the state of the world.” Inevitably, the shower takes me into me-time zone, and I slide into the rest of the routine.

Having done my practice, I was ready for the world …. and Victoria’s message, which had been sitting in my phone since 2.59 a.m. Toronto time. My daughter was alive, well and cared for. What was there to freak out about? Nothing.

What does this have to do with leadership? EVERYTHING! Many (all?) successful leaders have a morning routine, or “hour of power” as it’s sometimes labelled, to which they commit to prepare them to face the day and all that it may bring. The routines are varied – the gym, meditation, a run, yoga, reading, writing or some combination of these. They have spent years honing their practice until it has become as habitual as brushing their teeth. I haven’t studied all of their routines, but I can bet that very few of these successful leaders check their technology first. What I do know from their reports, and my own experience, is that how you start your day makes all the difference to how the day proceeds. You cannot change what happens, but you can determine your response, and you are better able to respond in a constructive, conscious and positive way if you have started your morning with intentional self-care.

So, my question to you:
How do you start your day and does it make you feel alive, energised and ready for anything?

If your routine does not make you feel this way, then I offer the following:

1. Commit to your self-care as the most important thing to do, the minute you awaken.
2. Decide on a simple practice for self-care that you enjoy. You will have to experiment over time, but that’s part of the joy – doing things, figuring out what works for you, and trying something new.
3. Decide on the first step that sets your process in motion, as sometimes the prospect of an hour is just too much to consider in your state of grogginess. But you can at least convince yourself to take that first step – for me, it’s my shower.
4. Remove your technology from your room the night before – I charge my phone in my home office, so even if I feel to, I can’t roll over and check it.
5. Time your process and set your alarm to awaken in time for you to complete it. Over time, your body will adjust to the earlier time, and you may even find that an alarm is no longer needed.
6. Have an abbreviated version of your practice just in case you are short of time – point is to do something, no matter how brief, to care for yourself.
7. Commit to your practice every day for 30 days, to make it a habit

Now you are ready for the day – to check your emails, the news, the stock market, from a place of power, of strength, of joy. And if there’s bad news, or some challenge for you to address, you will be ready and energised to do so. As I did, after responding to Victoria’s message: I went on Amazon and purchased an avocado slicer.

For similar blogposts by Marguerite:

Morning Ritual of a Boss from Hell – click HERE to view article
Do You Take Your Practice to Work? – click HERE to view article