Maybe this is you, too? All that urgency we talked about
last time makes you wake up at say, 2 AM, when no sane person would be trying to start their day. Except that your task list, the one that’s supposed to keep your
mind like water, is standing next to your bed, jabbing you in the ribs. It’s saying something to the effect of, “Hey, you think you got time to sleep? Think again, buster.”
So you toss and turn until 4 AM and then crawl out of bed, wishing that intravenous coffee was actually an option, and thinking about all that stuff you gotta do. And so you drink your coffee and open your email and then realize it’s 7 AM.

Whaatttt?!!??
Now you’re late. And you’re frankly pissed because you could have gotten something done but you didn’t because you got sucked into email. (And you’ll never admit it to anybody but you got distracted by
Twitter or
Facebook, too, didn’t you? Don’t worry, I won’t tell on you.)
You get to work feeling really grouchy and jittery. Not enough sleep. Too much caffeine. And there are three monkeys on your back: anxiety, worry, and urgency. And waiting for you at your desk is all the stuff you were fretting over at 2 AM. Crap. It’s at that moment you realize that your child’s soccer game, the one where she gets to finally be a starter, is coming up that afternoon.
Cue music:
Theme from Jaws. Daaa-dunt. Daa-dunt.
Despite what you may be thinking, there is hope. Let’s rewind.
You wake up at 2 AM, acknowledge the task list, and turn over. You deliberately lull yourself back to sleep by using your imagination (in this case, you mentally re-read the same bedtime story read to your child a few hours earlier).
When you awaken at 4 AM, you make your coffee and open your task list, spending ten minutes reviewing what has to be done and when. Then you do the same with your calendar. You finish up by journaling for a few minutes, reviewing the day before, thinking ahead to the day to come. Last, but not least, you use your smart phone to eyeball your email--not to actually read and respond--but to triage and make sure there’s no huge fire or smoking something that might sneak up on you.
You engage your morning routine from there until you get to work, doing the same set of tasks you do every morning. Like making up the bed. Putting together yours or the kid’s lunches, feeding the pets, and so on.
When you arrive for work, you feel a sense of control and order because you got some, using those sometimes poopooed routines. And you’ve already thought through what’s most important at both work and home so you’re not freaking out. No drama. You’re well prepared to take it on.
Cue music: It's a Beautiful Day!
Which one of these you’s would you like to be? You really do get to choose.
---
Want some more stuff like this? Read these:
Seven Dimensions of Productivity: Why you need them all
Focus, organization, and being in control
What does "under control" look like?