It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Los Angeles)

This past week I helped host a Non-Profit Roundtable Workshop that focused an PROBLEM SOLVING and PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY. It got me thinking about how I manage my "leadership life", so I thought we could take some time to learn together and encourage each other with productivity lessons we've learned over time.

I love the answer to this question:  Why is personal productivity important?

"Because it allows you to either accomplish more things int he same amount of time, or accomplish the same amount of things in less time (whichever is more important for you). It also gives you the feeling of being in control of your own time and by extension, of your own life."

When I search for help with personal productivity, I'm overwhelmed by the amount of information there is: tips, tools, apps, ideas.  It's a little crazy.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Los Angeles)

We've been talking about MORNING ROUTINES for a number of weeks. CLICK HERE to read the previous posts. We've talked about "SPACE", "MORNING PAPERS", "LECTIO DIVINA" and just the value of a MORNING ROUTINE.

Today we're talking about COFFEE.

When I began asking you to share your morning routines, one of the constants that was shared was the role of COFFEE in our morning routines. I resonate with this, so today I want to share some things that others have shared.

First, if you're a NON-COFFEE DRINKER, I have a nice blog post here for you to read instead: "13 THINGS ONLY PEOPLE WHO DON'T DRINK COFFEE WILL UNDERSTAND". There are people like you all over, and I don't want you to feel left out. Read and enjoy.

However, just to be fair, he's a post from Lifehack entitled: "14 THINGS ONLY COFFEE DRINKERS WOULD UNDERSTAND".

Now, back to COFFEE.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Los Angeles)

I'm going to talk about Morning Routine for a couple more weeks then we'll move on.  It's day #11 for me, and I wish I could say that the last week was amazing, but it wasn't. Lot's of interruptions, lack of discipline, and excuses. However, I did work my routine more than the week before.  This is a new week and I've had a great 2 days including some time with Morning Papers and some simply exercise, stretching and prayer.  Don't get caught up in it... Just try to take some time each day.

2 things, then I want to share about a spiritual discipline that is really good.

#1) Next week, I'm talking about COFFEE. For some of you, just that word makes you begin to salivate. For others, it does nothing for you.  If Coffee is a part of your morning routine, tell me what about the experience of coffee is most significant.  Just send me a note HERE and I'll share them with others.

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Los Angeles)

What are MORNING PAPERS? (or PAGES)

Last week I shared a little of my Morning Routine for this month. I'm on day #4. How are you doing with yours? If you're willing to share your routine with me, please SEND IT TO ME.

A number of you asked me what "Morning Papers" is all about. Today, I want to share just a few thoughts about this. I'm still learning, but it's been something that I've done for a while, but I'm trying to do it more regularly now.

The idea of "Morning Pages" comes from a book called "The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron.  I heard about this practice from a number of people, and then researched where it came from and what Cameron recommends. 

I'm going to share with you a couple of things that have helped me with this, but you can also watch this video from a blogger named Shelby who really details the practice fully. This is an 18-minute video, but it's really good. Watch it HERE

It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Los Angeles)

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and engaging on this Morning Routine Conversation.

This past week I had a unique opportunity to get some "SPACE". I participated in an experience called The Rogue Journey   CLICK HERE FOR INFO

I won't share the details of this incredible experience, but I encourage you to check out their website and information. It was a much-needed 3 days in the mountains of Colorado.

I think the thing that I appreciated the most was the extra SPACE that was provided to me. I've just come off of a pretty heavy season of travel, some high-engaging events and just a busy number of weeks. I needed this SPACE to process, to recharge and to begin to look forward.  I walked away from this time more committed to figure out this Morning Routine that we're talking about, and I'm committed to continue to learn from so many of you that have shared your thoughts, ideas and experiences.

I'm reading through a book that has become a constant companion over the past few years, "EAT, MOVE, SLEEP" by Tom Rath.  CLICK HERE    I use the book as a simple way to learn, to remember, and to keep moving in the right direction. I realize how important these 3 things are to me: How I eat, movement throughout the day, and getting enough sleep.

Wow! Last week I began a conversation around your "MORNING ROUTINE" and I've been inundated with emails, thoughts, questions and ideas. If you'd like to read the post from last week that started this conversation, CLICK HERE

The question was simple: If you have a morning routine, what is it?

I heard from about 70 different people, and their routines are all different and accomplish different things.

Some focused on "what you do in the morning". This includes things like: brush my teeth, have a cup of coffee, read the paper, go for a walk, make my bed, comb my hair.

I would call most of these "morning habits". (I can hear my mother saying, "Russ, make your bed before breakfast!")

At a recent leadership summit, we had a short conversation about your "MORNING ROUTINE".  This has created some great conversation, as well as questions from many. I want to begin a conversation today around this.

In Brendon Burchards book, "High Performance Habits", he researches habits that are consistent with High Performing Leaders. He identifies 3 things that just jumped off the page for me:

1. High performers are more successful than their peers, yet they are less stressed.

2. High performers love challenges and are more confident that they will achieve their goals despite adversity.

3. High performers are healthier than their peers.

He digs much deeper, and he identifies a bunch of other things that are common to High Performers, but these three connected with me around the theme of a "MORNING ROUTINE".

Time Leadership

I don't talk about Time Management anymore.  I talk about TIME LEADERSHIP.

Many of us spend so much energy trying to "manage" our time, and the reality is that our time is limited, it's somewhat controlled, and if we're just trying to manage it, then there's nothing real strategic about it.

Bob Shank taught be about "TIME LEADERSHIP". The idea is that as leaders, we decide where we want to spend our time based on our goals, based on our priorities and based on what will produce the greatest outcomes. WE decide. We don't simply try to manage whatever morsels of time are on our plate, but we made decisions around what is important.