In this age of social media and technology it’s common to get up in the morning feeling like we’re running against the clock. Increased connectivity is a great thing, but it can also create pressure in our lives where there didn’t used to be any. How many of us stress about work email in the morning? Even if it doesn’t cause us undue stress, many of us make checking our email our morning routine.
Checking emails first in the morning isn’t good for you. Here’s why.
Reading email first thing in the morning wastes the opportunity to engage your brain in more proactive tasks while it is at its most focused, creative, and highly capable. Mornings are a great time to do productive work that requires focus, creativity, and strategy. “But reading emails is my way of being productive,” you say? This may be the case, but think hard. Are you really focusing on your own objectives or are you dealing with other people’s problems whilst your own goals fade into the background?
If you want to be a proactive, rather than a reactive, leader, it’s important to focus on your own daily objectives first thing in the morning. Reading your email takes you down the path of reactive leadership; you’ll be more focused on putting out fires and dealing with other people’s problems instead of focusing on your own goals. Having your main goals and objectives take a back seat first thing in the morning when your brain is at its most focused is a waste of your valuable time.
How can we make the most of the morning?
It may sound counterintuitive to say this, but a great way to set yourself up for a productive day is to avoid reading your email and to simply sit back for as little as ten minutes and take stock. Research has shown that a routine practice of mindfulness meditation will actually alter the way our brains work. There are some great apps available that can help you through a guided meditation session. Apps such as Headspace are great for beginners, whilst the Mindfulness App is perfect for more advanced meditators, allowing you to decide the length of the session and whether you want a silent or guided session.
Continuous mindfulness practice redirects brain activity from parts of the brain associated with reactive thinking, such as the limbic system. Increased activity can be seen in parts such as the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with rational thinking. As little as ten minutes a day can help give us some extra thinking space; we are less likely to make reactionary, emotional decisions and more likely to balance our feelings with the bigger picture, allowing us to make rational decisions.
Again it may seem oxymoronic, but we can actually use our phones to help us switch off and disconnect, leading to a more productive day’s work. Be sure to turn off those notifications, as you don’t want any distractions in the morning.
Another problem that can make us reactive in our modern high-pressure environments is the fact that we are constantly multitasking. Again, this ties in with reading our emails and being presented with a barrage of problems to solve with no fixed time limit. However, it may apply to many other aspects of our lives. Again, mindfulness can help reduce the “noise” and aid in focusing on one task at hand. Mindfulness meditation may not be a magical solution to your problems, but it will certainly allow you to focus on the most important goals you have set for the days, weeks, and years ahead.
Featured photo credit: Wasabi.com.co via wasabi.com.co
