A morning routine involving no phone, computer, etc. for the first hour of the day has been great for me.
I usually wake up, make coffee, read for about 30 min, and then gratitude journal and plan my day. (I use Panda Planner purely for convenience, I'm sure a blank sheet of paper works as well.)
This allows me to set my own schedule and prioritize my day, rather than reacting to the demands placed on me by others. I've seen improvement in both 1) my general productivity and 2) my progress on the long-term tasks I'd usually be more likely to put off.
Every day you write down X things you are grateful/thankful for. The goal is to write new things every day.
The intent is to help you rediscover things in your life that you tend to take for granted. A lot of us have it pretty good but still feel sad or depressed day-to-day. This journaling process intends to curb that.
I tried this for a while, via daily tweets instead of a journal. Tried to find one thing a day, even if it was the smallest of things (e.g. first time wearing a new pair of socks!).
Very quickly I found out that my daily gratitudes are about (1) driving to/from work that was less congested than usual. (2) finding a good parking spot (mostly at work).
(3) getting a tasty lunch (during lunch break, at work).
This actually depressed me, b/c it was just further indication all I do is work.
I do a form of this is a "monthly reflection". Daily made me feel "beholden" to it, whereas once a month feels like something to look forward to.
I share it with close friends as a way to connect. Feel free to email me and I can send a sample, but I'm not gonna directly link on the internet as it defeats the purpose :)
I usually wake up, make coffee, read for about 30 min, and then gratitude journal and plan my day. (I use Panda Planner purely for convenience, I'm sure a blank sheet of paper works as well.)
This allows me to set my own schedule and prioritize my day, rather than reacting to the demands placed on me by others. I've seen improvement in both 1) my general productivity and 2) my progress on the long-term tasks I'd usually be more likely to put off.