Producing Vs Consuming

How do you start your morning, as a producer or a consumer?

I was sparked to ask this after reading this thread on reddit. The thread talks about small life changes that have a big impact. This question really stuck in my head. How do you start your day?

I’m not talking about when you shower (hopefully), eat breakfast, and go though the mindless routine. I’m talking about the first things you do with your thinking. Do you start checking Facebook, Twitter, and email? Do you start working on a project? It comes down to are you consuming the information, or producing it? A small thing that can really set the tone for the rest of the day.

I admit I am guilty of checking my phone first thing. New messages, emails, and tweets. I am an information consumer, and it really set a tone for the day. A tone that has me regularly checking my email and social media. It cut into my productivity. It’s easy to get sidetracked while your working by taking a quick look on Facebook or Twitter. And it is almost always useless information, setting me off on useless tangents.

So I am making the small change. Becoming a producer over a consumer.

The first thing I did this morning was write this post. And I will continue this trend. It won’t always be a blog post, and it certainly won’t always be extended work. But before I consumer anything, I need to spend five minutes on a project. After five minutes, I may be on a roll and not want to stop. I’ll be in the mind set of getting things done rather than checking my Facebook.

Stephen King, author of 49 novels, used to say in the morning, he would force himself to write 5 pages. He knew once getting over the hump of starting work the rest would come. It made him one of the most productive writers in history.

It’s a snowball effect. Get one thing done, you want to get more done. Start your days on a productive note rather than a lazy one.

*This post brought to you by a productive morning.