What gets you going each day?
November 1, 2010 2:30 PM Subscribe
What gets you going each day?
I'm the type of person that works on momentum. Once I do a small thing, which varies, it gives me motivation to do more things.
This generally results in a more enjoyable/fulfilling day than one involving plopping down on the couch in front of the TV.
So, I ask you this: what is a small thing you do regularly to give your day a kick-start? I'm looking for little catalysts to get my day going. Thanks!
I'm the type of person that works on momentum. Once I do a small thing, which varies, it gives me motivation to do more things.
This generally results in a more enjoyable/fulfilling day than one involving plopping down on the couch in front of the TV.
So, I ask you this: what is a small thing you do regularly to give your day a kick-start? I'm looking for little catalysts to get my day going. Thanks!
Honestly? Getting out of my pajamas. It sounds stupid and little, but the later I stay in my pajamas, the less I accomplish. For me, getting out of pajamas means "first, have a shower", but it's amazing how slothful I can be if I don't do it first thing. Suddenly, it's noon, I've watched way too many Doctor Who re-runs (can there be too many? maybe not...) and I can't be bothered to go to the grocery because my hair is filthy.
posted by ersatzkat at 2:38 PM on November 1, 2010 [11 favorites]
posted by ersatzkat at 2:38 PM on November 1, 2010 [11 favorites]
Thinking about the awesome things I can do and build today. Just going through the list of things I could do or have to do until I find something I really want to do. Then I get up, go through my morning rituals (involving a shower, tea and a half-breakfast) and end up doing something completely different than planned originally.
posted by Triton at 2:39 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by Triton at 2:39 PM on November 1, 2010
I open the warm tap of the shower. While the water worms its way from the boiler to the tap I go look out of the living room window, which gives me a view over the River Itchen and central Southampton, and an idea of how the weather will be. Then I take a warm shower, and end it with a cold shower. Then I'm done gone going.
(coffee and metafilter maybe next...)
posted by Namlit at 2:42 PM on November 1, 2010
(coffee and metafilter maybe next...)
posted by Namlit at 2:42 PM on November 1, 2010
Cycling to work, and keeping an Aeropress coffee maker and really nice coffee at work (I don't drink coffee at home), makes me look forward to getting up and getting my day underway.
posted by Wroksie at 2:44 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Wroksie at 2:44 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
This is going to sound weird and perhaps even pathetic, but I have started using my iPhone as my alarm clock, and at the same time that I turn off the alarm, I check my email. I have a bunch of colleagues who manage to adhere to an "at work by 8am" schedule that I am incapable of, so by the time I wake up (at 8:15 or so), many of the emails I sent the afternoon/night before have responses. I can reply, if necessary, from the comfort of bed, and by the time I've done that, my brain is usually in "work" mode and eager to address some of the issues I'd been thinking about the day before, or that have been complicated by said emails.
At that point I get up and do some work in my pyjamas while I eat breakfast, drink my coffee, and listen to the news... or frantically shower and get dressed in order to make it to the meeting that someone scheduled ridiculously early :)
posted by obliquicity at 2:48 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
At that point I get up and do some work in my pyjamas while I eat breakfast, drink my coffee, and listen to the news... or frantically shower and get dressed in order to make it to the meeting that someone scheduled ridiculously early :)
posted by obliquicity at 2:48 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
The thought that if I mess this job up, I might have to get a real job.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:54 PM on November 1, 2010 [17 favorites]
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:54 PM on November 1, 2010 [17 favorites]
Whether I do it in bed after my alarm goes off or in the shower a few minutes later, I think about how great my day is going to be and imagine the things that I have to do and the meetings I'm going to attend going really well. I visualize being productive and things going smoothly.
posted by Kimberly at 2:58 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Kimberly at 2:58 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
what is a small thing you do regularly to give your day a kick-start?Either Public Enemy's Rebel Without A Pause or Billy Bragg's version of the Internationale. This is a serious answer.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 3:02 PM on November 1, 2010 [5 favorites]
Get straight out of bed as soon as my alarm starts, eat something small, change into a tracksuit and go for a run
posted by Chrysalis at 3:03 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by Chrysalis at 3:03 PM on November 1, 2010
Going for a run or walk with the dog. He delights in it, I soak up the feeling of the sun approaching, and the experience is necessarily followed by a hot shower which completes the process of getting me going.
posted by bearwife at 3:05 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by bearwife at 3:05 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
My routine isn't so much of a kickstart as it is a process that limits the available choices:
I wake up (via alarm or sudden-cat-on-groin) and I'm not allowed to pee until the bed is made (which turns the bed into a no-comfort zone). Post-pee, there's no cozy bed to crawl into so there's nothing left to do but make coffee. Next, I can either stare at the kettle, willing the water to boil faster. That's usually WAY too sleep inducing for morning, so I hop in the shower and race the kettle; the loud kettle whistle provides great incentive to win. After rushing out of the shower in order to stop the wailing of the kettle, I mix the boiling water and coffee, and go get dressed while it's steeping.
Once I'm dressed, the day can commence for real.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 3:19 PM on November 1, 2010 [13 favorites]
I wake up (via alarm or sudden-cat-on-groin) and I'm not allowed to pee until the bed is made (which turns the bed into a no-comfort zone). Post-pee, there's no cozy bed to crawl into so there's nothing left to do but make coffee. Next, I can either stare at the kettle, willing the water to boil faster. That's usually WAY too sleep inducing for morning, so I hop in the shower and race the kettle; the loud kettle whistle provides great incentive to win. After rushing out of the shower in order to stop the wailing of the kettle, I mix the boiling water and coffee, and go get dressed while it's steeping.
Once I'm dressed, the day can commence for real.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 3:19 PM on November 1, 2010 [13 favorites]
Weekends are best... dawg and I are up at sunrise, I grab treats, the leash, and the camera... a three or four mile walk in the park by the river... sets the tone for the rest of the day.. We walk in 90 degree heat and 10 degree snowfalls.... all's good!
(the donuts and fresh coffee from the local bakery might also be a key part!)
posted by HuronBob at 3:32 PM on November 1, 2010
(the donuts and fresh coffee from the local bakery might also be a key part!)
posted by HuronBob at 3:32 PM on November 1, 2010
Clint Mansell's We're Going Home. I've been listening to it almost every day on the walk to work after the train lets out.
posted by griphus at 3:38 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by griphus at 3:38 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
I take a shower. As a person who suffers from depression, it is a wonder what a shower can do. Then if it is the weekend and I feel tired later, I can nap, but still be clean and clothed.
I also make lists of goals I need to accomplish. I am always excited to get to work or go into the kitchen and work on a few small goals, just so I can cross them off my list.
I also race myself to see how much I can get done in a certain amount of time, kind of like Cat Pie Hurts describes above. The more I do in a 5 minute period, the more I am motivated to do next. It's amazing how much can get done in a small amount of time.
posted by batonthefueltank at 3:41 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
I also make lists of goals I need to accomplish. I am always excited to get to work or go into the kitchen and work on a few small goals, just so I can cross them off my list.
I also race myself to see how much I can get done in a certain amount of time, kind of like Cat Pie Hurts describes above. The more I do in a 5 minute period, the more I am motivated to do next. It's amazing how much can get done in a small amount of time.
posted by batonthefueltank at 3:41 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I wake up in order to let my chickens out. They like to be up at dawn, but they can't tell that it's dawn from their coop. So I tend to let them out between 7 and 7:30. I love it. I'm finally getting up when I'd like to be getting up, and my chickens are getting their morning worms.
(Today I had a nap on the backyard couch with a chicken on my stomach. So sweet.)
posted by aniola at 3:41 PM on November 1, 2010 [15 favorites]
(Today I had a nap on the backyard couch with a chicken on my stomach. So sweet.)
posted by aniola at 3:41 PM on November 1, 2010 [15 favorites]
"what is a small thing you do regularly to give your day a kick-start?"
Ingest amphetamines.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:58 PM on November 1, 2010 [6 favorites]
Ingest amphetamines.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:58 PM on November 1, 2010 [6 favorites]
Ingest amphetamines.
Yeah, my internal clock is so hell-bent on Ritalin time that I wake up every morning at around 530 without even setting an alarm. It's simultaneously awesome and irritating.
Other than that, it's the burning desire to get to the gym before all the horrible thoughtless coffee-drinkers take over the good bank of ellipticals. Panting coffee breath on all sides at 6am makes me want to run shrieking through the streets stabbing at random.
posted by elizardbits at 4:06 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
Yeah, my internal clock is so hell-bent on Ritalin time that I wake up every morning at around 530 without even setting an alarm. It's simultaneously awesome and irritating.
Other than that, it's the burning desire to get to the gym before all the horrible thoughtless coffee-drinkers take over the good bank of ellipticals. Panting coffee breath on all sides at 6am makes me want to run shrieking through the streets stabbing at random.
posted by elizardbits at 4:06 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
Plan your day out the night before.
Set out your clothing the night before.
Turn off easy convenient time wasters the night before. Shut down your web browser the night before, if necessary. If you need to do things in the morning before you sit down to the computer, turn the computer off the night before.
Make sure your to-do list has all entries broken down into their simplest elements, with an annotation of estimated time. Example:
Bad:
Start paying business taxes
Better:
Call city offices for business tax information
Best:
Google search for city office's phone number (30 seconds)
The goal is to have a list of entries like that, and you can work on any one you want, without noting their priority. This is purely for gaining task momentum.
This makes a lot of daunting taxes seem bite-sized and ridiculously easy, and can give you just enough momentum to do other stuff, too.
posted by circular at 4:07 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
Set out your clothing the night before.
Turn off easy convenient time wasters the night before. Shut down your web browser the night before, if necessary. If you need to do things in the morning before you sit down to the computer, turn the computer off the night before.
Make sure your to-do list has all entries broken down into their simplest elements, with an annotation of estimated time. Example:
Bad:
Start paying business taxes
Better:
Call city offices for business tax information
Best:
Google search for city office's phone number (30 seconds)
The goal is to have a list of entries like that, and you can work on any one you want, without noting their priority. This is purely for gaining task momentum.
This makes a lot of daunting taxes seem bite-sized and ridiculously easy, and can give you just enough momentum to do other stuff, too.
posted by circular at 4:07 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
Put lace-up shoes on.
It's easy to loaf in bare feet, socks or slip-ons. Putting shoes on is a small ritual, but it's also a preventative measure (no shoes on the couch!), and an enabling measure (take the trash out -- "but I have bare feet" cannot be used as an excuse).
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:08 PM on November 1, 2010
It's easy to loaf in bare feet, socks or slip-ons. Putting shoes on is a small ritual, but it's also a preventative measure (no shoes on the couch!), and an enabling measure (take the trash out -- "but I have bare feet" cannot be used as an excuse).
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:08 PM on November 1, 2010
I eat candy and when I come down from that I get some sunshine. And if I'm feeling down, chores are a really really good distraction.
posted by foxy at 4:13 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by foxy at 4:13 PM on November 1, 2010
It sounds boring and horribly righteous, but I have to say that the days I do best at are those where I go to the gym in the morning.
All I can say in my defence is that I am no kind of health Nazi, I find gym work tedious in the extreme but... if I manage to drag my reluctant arse down there in the morning I feel energised, fired up and I tend to do stuff I'd otherwise put off.
posted by Decani at 4:27 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
All I can say in my defence is that I am no kind of health Nazi, I find gym work tedious in the extreme but... if I manage to drag my reluctant arse down there in the morning I feel energised, fired up and I tend to do stuff I'd otherwise put off.
posted by Decani at 4:27 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Soon as alarm goes off I get up and get me a cup of coffee (automatic coffee machine being preset) and then get in the shower. In the shower I start thinking about what is planned for that day and I try to find one thing that excites me about it. As soon as I get dressed and ready I go to the office so I can get some quite time before the phone starts ringing off the hook. On weekends I chill out a few minutes before getting in the shower, but it is done every morning fairly early.
posted by sandyp at 4:48 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by sandyp at 4:48 PM on November 1, 2010
Shaving is one of my quick pick-me-ups. Usually, this means that it gets me going each day. But not this month.
So, here are some other things that I do to get going in the morning:
Make a ritual out of getting ready for the day, and set deadlines for each little act in the process (e.g. out of bed by 6:00, coffee ready by 6:10, in the shower by 7:15, shoes on by 7:45, out of the door by 8:10 etc.).
This is essentially an example of setting small targets and achieving them to give yourself a sense of accomplishment.
posted by vidur at 4:51 PM on November 1, 2010
So, here are some other things that I do to get going in the morning:
Make a ritual out of getting ready for the day, and set deadlines for each little act in the process (e.g. out of bed by 6:00, coffee ready by 6:10, in the shower by 7:15, shoes on by 7:45, out of the door by 8:10 etc.).
This is essentially an example of setting small targets and achieving them to give yourself a sense of accomplishment.
posted by vidur at 4:51 PM on November 1, 2010
Coffee. Strong. Black.
Bracingly strong if possible.
posted by squorch at 5:15 PM on November 1, 2010
Bracingly strong if possible.
posted by squorch at 5:15 PM on November 1, 2010
Putting in my contacts. I also set my coffee maker to auto-brew a few minutes before my alarm clock. I looove waking up to the smell of coffee. And being able to see is very important when dealing with hot liquids. Then I watch the sunrise. Sight + coffee + sunrise = awesomness.
posted by shinyshiny at 5:21 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by shinyshiny at 5:21 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
I simply realize that I am alive. I deserve to be alive, and should I not wake up tomorrow, I dedicate the day to helping humanity and/or partying the day away (it's often nice when I can do both at the same time).
posted by theBlackSwan at 5:29 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by theBlackSwan at 5:29 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]
I don't truly wake up until I walk into my office, but Queen's Can't Stop Me Now is my bus-to-office-walk song, and it wakes me up plenty.
Well, that and elevator-dancing.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:36 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Well, that and elevator-dancing.
posted by punchtothehead at 5:36 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
This is sad but true:
Fear.
I wake up stressing about something undone and the worst possible consequence and it gets me in the shower and hustling and speeding to work to take care of it.
This is not recommended, but it works.
posted by Gucky at 5:47 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Fear.
I wake up stressing about something undone and the worst possible consequence and it gets me in the shower and hustling and speeding to work to take care of it.
This is not recommended, but it works.
posted by Gucky at 5:47 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm up before the sun almost every day in winter (kids leave for the bus at about 7.35am) but the only thing that gets me going is a full pot of Moka coffee, fresh ground and a concrete idea of what I'm supposed to accomplish during the day -- not everything, just the one thing I absolutely have to do.
posted by unSane at 5:48 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by unSane at 5:48 PM on November 1, 2010
I stand in the kitchen and look out the backdoor at my garden. My boyfriend calls it "surveying my domain" which is funny because it's about 10X20'
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:19 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 6:19 PM on November 1, 2010 [2 favorites]
Honestly- pushups work for me. Cheaper than coffee and no messy cleanup. Also: 20 seconds out in the cold in your skivvies works every time. If that's doable at your place, that is.
posted by swedish_fishy at 6:23 PM on November 1, 2010
posted by swedish_fishy at 6:23 PM on November 1, 2010
some things that get me up in the morning, in no particular order:
anticipation of an awesome breakfast (asparagus can cook in the oven while i am showering) or alternately, knowing there's stuff in the cupboard for a really good brown-bag lunch
fancy soap and stuff in the shower
also, a good getting-ready playlist - i like listening to queen when i'm getting dressed/doing my hair. i put the laptop on the table in the hallway so i can hear it as i stumble back and forth from my bedroom to the bathroom.
posted by janepanic at 6:27 PM on November 1, 2010
anticipation of an awesome breakfast (asparagus can cook in the oven while i am showering) or alternately, knowing there's stuff in the cupboard for a really good brown-bag lunch
fancy soap and stuff in the shower
also, a good getting-ready playlist - i like listening to queen when i'm getting dressed/doing my hair. i put the laptop on the table in the hallway so i can hear it as i stumble back and forth from my bedroom to the bathroom.
posted by janepanic at 6:27 PM on November 1, 2010
Making eggs on toast from homemade (or real bakery) bread.
Mouth-wateringly, eye-wateringly good toast. Add onions or tomatoes for taste. No coffee necessary.
posted by shii at 7:24 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Mouth-wateringly, eye-wateringly good toast. Add onions or tomatoes for taste. No coffee necessary.
posted by shii at 7:24 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
Duty. One kid must be changed and fed. Another has to be dragged out of bed for school. The cats must be fed. One cat needs a daily insulin injection. Then I walk to work. I haven't slept later than about six (even on weekends) in a long time. If the skies are clear, I see the stars when I put the cats out in the morning.
posted by pracowity at 12:14 AM on November 2, 2010
posted by pracowity at 12:14 AM on November 2, 2010
Coffee --> gym --> shower. And I'm good. If I skip the gym, I can sub in good NPR dialogue and/or lively music.
posted by n'muakolo at 9:32 AM on November 3, 2010
posted by n'muakolo at 9:32 AM on November 3, 2010
Abject terror. My cat makes sure that I am greeted every morning with some HUGE noise and then hauls ass in circles around my tiny apartment. This morning it was my speakers falling.
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:21 AM on November 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by thsmchnekllsfascists at 11:21 AM on November 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
This is where having an outboard brain-style to do list can really pay off. Think through all of your objectives until you've got an inventory of everything you can do in any given situation to help realize your goals. Pick anything from that inventory, and the cycle of success->momentum will kick off.
posted by sudama at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by sudama at 10:44 PM on November 6, 2010 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
setting small goals and rewards for myself just make it easier.
posted by nadawi at 2:35 PM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]