Are you the kind of person that walks into your office (or work area), and immediately gets “hooked” looking at the pile of emails in your in box, or feels compelled to take care of that blinking light on your phone?

Boy, do I relate.  That used to be me.

I’d get immediately pulled into handling little “niggly” stuff, and then the phone would ring with my first client of the day, and before you knew it I was “off and running” into a very full day that was much less efficient than it could have been.

What I’ve since learned, from a wonderful mentor, was that instead of responding to the “shiny object syndrome” (meaning that one focuses on whatever is the most distracting), to instead take 10 minutes every morning just to plan my day – my schedule, tasks, and intentions.

And I can’t espouse the value of this enough.  By taking the time to look at my most important priorities – and to determine exactly when I will handle each (given whatever is already scheduled) – I find that my days are much more productive.  It’s like night and day.

And even more importantly, that feeling of “free floating anxiety” is greatly diminished, and I actually feel empowered and effective.

So that’s my encouragement – each morning, “take time for 10!