3 Habits to Declutter Your Morning and Build Momentum for Your Day

Watch the most effective leaders. You’ll find that they hit the ground running each morning, seemingly dashing off the starting blocks like they’ve been fired out of a cannon. And that early momentum continues throughout the day, taking them from one leadership win to the next.

What you accomplish during your day is largely driven by the momentum you have when you start the day.

What accounts for the boundless energy with which the most effective leaders start their day?

The “secret sauce” is often found in the decluttering of their pre-work morning.

Implement these three habits to simplify your morning routine and increase your energy and focus at the office.

What you accomplish during your day is largely driven by the momentum you have when you start the day.

1. Sleep Like a Leader

Many leadership discussions on the topic of sleep will focus on the question as to how much sleep a person needs in order to “function.”

“I only need 5 hours of sleep in order to function,” one leader will say.

“I only need 4 hours to function,” will say another.

The problem is, aiming to “function” is setting the leadership bar far too low. Leaders don’t want to merely function; leaders should aim to thrive, and to bolt off the starting blocks in the morning. A decluttered start to the day involves 7.5 to 8 hours of sleep. Always.

Achieve a thriving start to your leadership day by getting the rest you need.

2. Pace Your Morning Like a Leader

The U.S. Army once used a slogan, “We do more by 9 a.m. than most people do all day.”

For leaders, that means devoting yourself to as many non-leadership pursuits as possible in the early morning hours. For people of faith, that can mean spending time in prayer. It can mean a leisurely breakfast or coffee with your spouse and family. It can mean exercise.

In other words, a decluttered start to the day means filling your emotional, relational and spiritual tanks. As you do, you are building your leadership reserves, and preparing yourself for a strong start to the leadership day to come.

A decluttered start to the day means filling your emotional, relational and spiritual tanks.

3. Prepare Your Mind Like a Leader

Decluttering means that from the moment you wake up, until you have arrived at your place of leadership, you must keep your mind as pressure-free as possible.

Many years ago, I used to check email on my smart phone before I even rolled out of bed. Therefore, the first thoughts entered my mind in the morning were the problems, questions and pressures that had flowed into my inbox overnight.

No more.

I do not check email in the morning. Nor do I look at social media. Nor any news sources. All of these can wait until I’m in the office.

Instead, I allow my mind to be fully present with my wife, my morning time of prayer and my personal thoughts. The result? By the time I am in the office, my mind is fresh, sharp and raring to go.

Don’t start your day by being distracted by needless pressures. Declutter your morning by keeping your mind fresh.

If you’ve ever found that by mid-morning, you still feel like you’re swimming in peanut butter, you’re not alone. Many leaders struggle to hit their stride to start the day.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. You really can start your day with tremendous momentum.

All it takes is a little decluttering.