======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ==== ======= ======= ====== ====== ====== ===== ==== ====== ====== ===== ====
You wake up in the morning to the sound of your alarm clock. You hit snooze seven times in a row. On what’s about to be the eighth time, you realize you only have three minutes left to get ready. You roll out of bed, put on a pair of half-wrinkled pants from the floor because they’re the only semi-clean ones that will hide that you didn’t shave, throw your hair into a top-knot, and run out the door. You do your makeup in traffic and hope no one notices that you didn’t blend, and you arrive at your desk only four minutes late. However, you notice you don’t have as much energy to get things done during the day, and your boss isn’t looking to promote you. Could these two things have something in common?
Forbes says yes. In interviews with 12 successful women, each at the top of her industry, Forbes discovered that they all have something in common: they have their morning schedule down to a T that minimizes stress, maximizes efficiency, and sets them up for the highest chance of success during the day. Each of these women gave a snapshot of what she does before work, and it’s incredible. You can find their full routines here, but I’ve broken down some of the trends I noticed for you to check out. Hopefully this inspires you a little and gives you more of a reason to drag your ass out of bed in the morning.
They’re Early Risers
The average wake-up time for each of these women is 6:03 a.m. Seem insane? They have a lot to do. They make a healthy breakfast for themselves and their family. Get ready for work by dressing for success. Work out. Drive kids to school. Catch up on the daily news. Send work emails. Plan out their day in their head. When you look at all these factors, it’s amazing that they can get all of this done in three hours before actual work begins. By the time these women are at work, their day has already begun and any struggles they’ve encountered in waking up or becoming productive have already occurred, putting them in the perfect mindset to kick ass at work. It kind of puts you rolling out of bed at 8:48 a.m. and struggling throughout the day in perspective.
They Eat A Healthy Breakfast
Whether it’s quinoa cereal, protein powder, or homemade pancakes, these ladies know a good breakfast is key to starting their day on the right foot. They know that eating a good breakfast gives you more sustainable energy to work with throughout the day than your venti coffee does. Additionally, most of these women use breakfast as a time to bond with their significant others and children, or to strengthen their own mind-body connection by doing something they enjoy, like reading a daily column online, giving them the inner peace they need to conquer the upcoming day.
They Work Out
Whether it’s yoga, spin, kickboxing, or a workout in their home gym, these women know that working out in the morning is a great key to success. You start your day energized. Exercise releases endorphins, so you’ll be in a better mood to take on the rest of your day. You’ll also feel better and will be much more likely to make healthier choices throughout the day, so it’s unlikely that you’ll drown in an unproductive food coma around lunch from consuming the largest, greasiest cheeseburger you can find.
They Make Time For Family And Themselves
Work gets stressful, so it’s important to go into these long days with a calm state of mind from spending time with the people you love. Whether it’s cuddling in bed, making breakfast together, or holding hands while watching a favorite morning program, these women know that spending time together is what will get them through the day. Making room for this time upfront and as part of your regular routine will help you get up in the morning and put you in the right state of mind to tackle that huge project at work.
They Create A Game Plan For Their Day
Perhaps most importantly, these women make a game plan to attack their day. It could be a to-do list, running through a list of events in their head, or spending a few minutes with their agenda or Outlook calendar, but no matter how they do it, they know what they have in store for the day and what they can reasonably accomplish. Setting reasonable goals is a huge key to success, and you’re infinitely less likely to forget about an important meeting or a deadline if you take a few minutes early on to organize yourself. Stay on top of your schedule, and you’ll stay on top of your career and have that much smoother of a road to success..
[via Forbes]
Respond
Steph W.
Steph W. is a new Master's degree graduate with an intern's salary and six-figure taste. She realizes her expectations far exceed reality, so she spends her days pinning away Loubs she pretends are in her physical closet instead of her virtual one. Her hobbies include attempting to trapping her boyfriend into marriage before he finds out how insane she is and pretending that Black Box wine tastes as good as the kind she could afford when she was gainfully employed. Send her tips for getting out of student debt at recruitchairtsm@gmail.com
@therecruitchair
Who are these companies that don’t expect their employees to be in until 9 AM and where can I submit my resume?
…I’m going to go out on a limb here and say somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of companies don’t make you come in until 9am. 8, 8:30, and 9 seem like the standard start times and I’ve seen a lot of each.
This sounds like a miserably unfun lifestyle.
Yeah, but retiring at 50 does not sound unfun.
Being rich sounds pretty fun…
$20 says everyone at work hates them
$50 everyone actually hates the dude who comes in sleepy, late, undependable, and unmotivated. Maybe that’s just me though.
So it’s just reinforcing the age old adage, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a woman healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
I learned that the woman photographed is gorgeous.
Skimmed the rest.