With their high-stress and continually changing workload, event planners can benefit from the structure of morning rituals.
When I began to research morning rituals online, I found a million articles all touting basically the same ideas. According to Entrepreneur, these rituals are “hacks” to boost productivity. In article after article, I read that I ought to be waking at dawn after a solid 8-hour sleep to meditate, workout, stretch, and then make myself a hearty breakfast.
I mean, sure, that sounds fantastic. But let’s get real. You don’t have the time, and nor do I. And then it hit me. Morning rituals aren’t about an idealized life. They’re not even necessarily about health. They’re really about what helps you start your day on the right foot.
A Morning Ritual Creates A Space For You
So let’s start with the most important aspect of a morning ritual. It’s about creating a space for you. New-age speak aside, what on earth does that mean? It means that you shouldn’t roll out of bed and launch into work, kids, emails, and whatever else. It means you should give yourself a little mental space to chill the heck out and ease into the day.
A Sense of Calm
I don’t eat breakfast. I drink coffee. But each morning, I put a 6-shot Moka Pot on the stove and make coffee for my wife and me. We sip and chat about what our day’s plans are, and anything else that springs to mind. And that’s my pre-work ritual in a nutshell – strong, dark coffee and chat. But I begin every day with a sense of calm.
A Sense of Control
Event professionals lead hectic lifestyles. So the morning ritual can give you a sense of control over your day. Here’s what I do (after my coffee).
I look over my day’s to-do list. ThymeBase lets me see all my tasks across all my events, so I get a birds-eye view of everything coming today and this week. I don’t launch myself into work just yet. I just create a relaxed space to look everything over. It gives me control over my day – no surprises, just a game plan.
Pause Before Work Begins Then Get Sh*t Done
As the caffeine does its job, I mull over my task list. I pause before work starts in earnest, and it allows me to plan my day somewhat. Usually, I start my day with an easy win.
Mark Twain said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” And most advice is to eat the frog – to do the most demanding or least palatable task first.
I disagree. I like to start my day by getting things done, so I pick the easiest, quickest tasks I can and do them first. I love the win.
Avoid The Time-Sucks
You know how you don’t feel great after junk food? Well, the same thing goes for mental junk food. I found that consuming the news or checking social media kills my productivity in the mornings. So it’s best to leave out distractions from morning rituals.
Your mental junk food can be anything that sucks away time unproductively or leaves you feeling irritable and distracted. Weirdly, I found that hitting the gym first thing did that to me. While I love working out, I felt like I lost my morning by the time I finished. Now, I workout in the afternoon. It feels like a welcome break and a reward for a productive morning.
Setting The Day’s Intention With Morning Rituals
The idea of setting an intention is one that yogis do, and it’s something that can improve any morning. One of my favorite morning rituals is to plan out the day’s tasks. I find that helps set the intention for the day. It’s kinda like setting a goal, and it gives me clarity and focus.
I actually use ThymeBase to do this. I created an event called “Today,” where I move tasks that I intend to complete today.
I start my day by moving any tasks from the task dashboard into the event. Then, I get to mark the tasks as done. The sense of accomplishment is fantastic.
It also lets me know if I’m being overly optimistic. If there are tasks left there at the end of the day, it helps me note that I’ve got too many things on my plate to reasonably complete in a day.
Related: Work From Home Tips From A Wedding Planner
Create Accountability With Morning Rituals
Your clients will often provide accountability, but there are other ways to trick your brain into completing your day’s goals. I’ve heard of people who state their goals publically on Twitter (ugh!), but I tell my team instead. Each morning, once I’ve set my day’s intention, I post my tasks in Slack.
Knowing that others have seen my day’s goals incentivizes me to get them done. Otherwise, they’ll appear on my list tomorrow. And I find that embarrassing.
Monitor What Doesn’t Work In Your Morning Rituals
And that’s also just part of tracking what doesn’t work. I’ve gotten better at setting my day’s goals, but I still have days where I fail. You’ll find yourself being way more productive when you set reasonable goals. And more reliable because you’ll be able to set realistic expectations. And it all begins with monitoring what you can reasonably get done in any given day.
Don’t Follow The Herd
Ultimately, the best morning ritual is yours alone. You don’t need to get up early or eat muesli and honey. Nor do you need to work out or meditate or run a 10k or whatever.
Your morning ritual is whatever sets your day up for success and productivity. You’re an exceptional event planner, and you know best what motivates you. All I’m really suggesting is that you make the space for that motivation to shine through.
Go get ’em!