By skyforbes 
Before you know it, your mind is cluttered with to do’s, your anxiety grows, and the day ahead seems harder and harder to face. So, what’s the solution?
Following an intentional Workday Startup Ritual every weekday morning is the most effective trick in the book for resetting your routine. A Workday Startup Ritual is, in essence, a step-by-step game plan that you do before work in order to set up a good mindset so you can have a good day.
This blog explains why Workday Startup Rituals work, how to optimize your current routine, and some of the most productive things you can do during yours.
Now your routine can still fall out of whack sometimes, so you’ll want to save these tricks for later when you need a refresher. That’s why I created a FREE GUIDE for you to download! Simply click that button below, add your info, then check your email!
In broader terms, a ritual is simply a step-by-step routine made up of normal actions that help you feel more equipped to handle the rest of the day productively. I like to think of a ritual as a customized recipe that inspires personal success for whatever you are about to embark on.
For instance, a Morning Ritual prepares you for the whole day while a Nightly Ritual levels out your mood for a good night’s rest. If you want to learn more about other daily rituals, then check out this blog!
A Workday Startup Ritual (which I also refer to as a Startup Ritual) is, therefore, an intentional, simple routine that begins once you enter your work environment and ends when you start the first task of the workday.
The purpose of a Startup Ritual is to instill a sense of control and inspire yourself to make it a great workday – whatever that may mean for you.
It is your personal time to get quick tasks off your mind plus align your daily actions with your bigger goals so you manage the day productively rather than let the day manage you.
In order to actually do that, this ritual has a few requirements:
- Your schedule allocates enough time to do every step
- The ritual can last for 10 minutes or an hour, as long as it suits your lifestyle rather than interrupts it!
- One step must be a review of your daily priorities
- Action items must be quick, easy to do, effective, and batched (themed)
- An activation trigger reminds you when to begin
An activation trigger is simply some kind of cue that tells you it is time to start your ritual. I personally use my calendar alert and have customized the vibration to be different than any other alert so I cannot mistake it for something else. Also, be sure to add your Startup Ritual to your calendar to ensure you always have time for it!
Plus don’t forget to download the FREE GUIDE so you can save these tips for when you need them most! All you gotta do is click that button below, add your name and email, then check your inbox!
WHY DO STARTUP RITUALS WORK?
Imagine arriving at your desk and, instead of feeling all over the place, you feel anchored because you know exactly what to do next, plus it feels natural to get going.
Author of No Fail Habits Michael Hyatt and author of Atomic Habits James Clear describes that this is possible thanks to the habit loop – the process of experiencing a cue, response, (intrinsic and/or extrinsic) reward, and repetition (in that order).
Repetition is the secret weapon for instilling any habit – like following rituals – because of the scientific process of neuroplasticity. Maybe you have heard of the phrase, “neurons that wire together, fire together”?
Well, when you perform the same action over and over again, eventually your brain will create pathways that make this action habitual.
Essentially, after consistent practice, doing your Workday Startup Rituals will become a habit and you will automatically optimize the start of your day without thinking twice about it.
Secondly, Michael Hyatt also states that Startup Rituals are effective for the long-term because willpower is not given that it takes too much brain power to last. Therefore, by optimizing your current routine and committing to your Startup Ritual, you are simultaneously removing:
- Distractions and other obstacles
- Your reliance on willpower
- The need for decision-making later on
Now let’s find out why this matters…
But first, be sure to get your FREE GUIDE! Just click that button below, enter your info, then check your email!
BENEFITS OF A WORKDAY STARTUP RITUAL
Currently, your workday morning routine may be missing something, has recently changed, and/or does not fit your lifestyle.
That’s why removing obstacles, willpower, and decision-making from your present workflow (which I will show you how to do soon!) will help transform it into a productive Startup Ritual.
As you can tell, the first benefit of a Workday Startup Ritual is that you do NOT have to start from scratch – even if you do not know it, you already have a routine (or inklings of one) in place!
A few of the other powerful benefits that you’ll soon notice are:
- Improved mental health
- Increased discipline
- Greater clarity
- More time and energy
- Automated results
Improved Mental Health
Remember, a ritual is made up of normal, easy-to-do actions – actions that are good for us, but often get pushed to the side when we are too busy.
If acts of self-care popped into your mind, you are not alone.
Unfortunately, taking care of ourselves is the first thing to fly out the window when in a rush. This only builds up stress and to do’s, so be sure to add moments of care into your Startup Ritual.
For instance, I write down 3 things I am grateful for during every Startup Ritual!
Increased Discipline
A few years ago, I was determined to add 20 minutes of reading to my Nightly Ritual. After falling asleep through several attempts, I decided to add reading to my Workday Startup Ritual instead.
This past year, I’ve read more books than I ever have before since reading has now become a natural step in getting my workday started.
Throughout this process, I was not once worried about finding that discipline to read, but instead focused on just going through the motions of my ritual when I said I would. This belittled that pressure I previously felt which has actually allowed me to enjoy reading even more than before.
Michael Hyatt additionally states that discipline is just disguised as automation. So if you want to do something for you, add it to a ritual and people will wonder how you do it all.
You know, even though I live and breathe this stuff I still often need reminders – and you probably will, too! That’s why you can’t forget to download your FREE GUIDE! So click that button below, add your name and email, then check your inbox!
Greater Clarity
As I mentioned before, one requirement for your Startup Ritual is to review your daily priorities.
I have found that also reviewing my long-term vision and weekly goals – both of which I dive into later on – helps clarify what my daily priorities should be. Whenever I sense overwhelm creeping in throughout the day, I go back to my daily priorities since I know that getting those done means it will be a productive day.
More Time & Energy
Since you determine the flow of your Startup Ritual beforehand, when the time comes to start the workday you will already know what to do.
Having a set-in-stone routine eliminates the need to make decisions about next steps. Now that procrastination, context switching, multitasking, brainstorming, etc. are no longer relevant, you save tons of mental bandwidth plus a lot more time than you may realize.
Automated Results
Workday Startup Rituals are all about creating a positive mindset, so by the end of each ritual you should be feeling like you can tackle the day ahead successfully.
Thanks to that better mental health and discipline as well as increased time and energy to spend, you’ll focus on your daily tasks much more effectively than before. This will quicken the rate at which you achieve any desired result in both work and life.
Secondly – and just like with anything else – practicing your Startup Ritual will only make it easier to do. The easier it gets, the stronger your inner autopilot will become!
6 STEPS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR WORKDAY STARTUP RITUAL
Keep in mind that you are optimizing your Startup Ritual – or, in other words, refreshing, updating, adjusting, editing, etc. You should NOT try to work a brand new routine into your morning because too many new things will prevent you from following through when times are busy.
The below covers the essentials, so if you would like to learn even more then head to this blog about daily rituals!
Some pro tips: be patient and honest with yourself, do not judge, and get excited for the mornings ahead!
Also, don’t forget to click that button below, enter your name and email, then check your inbox to download the FREE GUIDE so you can save these tips and steps for later!
The steps to optimize your Workday Startup Ritual are:
- Track: what are the steps of your current workday startup routine?
- Reflect: how do you want to feel at the start of your workdays?
- Brainstorm: what steps do you need to achieve your answers from step 2?
- Optimize: how can you replace current and ineffective steps with your steps from step 3?
- Experiment: try your Workday Startup Ritual for 1 week and adjust to fit your lifestyle, if needed.
- Review: every quarter, evolve your Workday Startup Ritual to fit your evolved lifestyle, if needed.
To be able to finetune the future, you must know where you are now – so let’s get started!
Step 1: Track
The first step is to track what you currently do as your workday startup routine.
Tomorrow morning, open a Google doc, notes page, piece of paper, etc. and bullet the below notes either as you go through your current routine or immediately afterwards.
- Each activity
- Duration of each activity
- How you feel after finishing each activity
Your bullets should be short and sweet so this process does not take any longer than a few minutes! Remember: be honest and do not judge!
Step 2: Reflect
Now that you have laid out exactly what you currently do plus how that makes you feel, let’s take a step back for a moment to think about your ideal scenario.
Ask yourself, “How do I want to feel at the start of my workdays?” Take some time to think it over, then write 3 words / phrases that capture your thoughts in your notes.
For some inspiration, my 3 words / phases are: energized, confident, and in control.
Step 3: Brainstorm
You now know how you want to feel at the end of your Startup Ritual, so it is time to decipher exactly what steps you need to realize them.
Next in your notes, brainstorm simple actions you can easily do (or already do, too!) that would ensure you feel how you want.
Feel free to think of as many as you want, but keep in mind you will only select a handful to include in your Startup Ritual.
By the way, I come back to these steps at least once a quarter to refresh my Workday Startup Ritual, and you should, too! So be sure to save the FREE GUIDE for later! Simply click that button below, add your info, then check your email!
Step 4: Optimize
Next, let’s organize your ritual’s ideal step-by-step flow!
Review your bullets from step 1 and cross off activities you should replace because they limit you.
Then review your brainstorm from step 3, and circle activities that you want to add into your Startup Ritual as the replacements of activities you just crossed off.
Finally, write your steps in order, replacing crossed out activities with circled ones. Include the duration for each step, then total the duration and create a repeating calendar appointment with yourself allocating however much time you need. Don’t forget to add alerts to serve as activation triggers!
Congrats – you have optimized your Workday Startup Ritual!
Step 5: Experiment
It’s time to try it out!
Begin every workday with your refreshed Startup Ritual for at least 1 workweek (5 days). You will notice if anything needs adjusting, so be sure to note your thoughts down in your notes.
Once the week is up, align your Startup Ritual to match your needs according to what you experienced. You may have to do this step a few times to find that perfect fit, so view this process of a fun experiment to relieve any pressure.
Step 6: Review
What makes life fun is that it never stops evolving. As you grow and change, so should your Startup Ritual.
I suggest going through these steps every quarter / once every 3 months to ensure your Startup Ritual continues enabling you. You might not always have to edit the steps, but doing a simple review of your workday morning game plan may inspire something better.
BEST PRACTICES
Here are some of the most effective tips and tricks that I use myself to optimize my own Startup Ritual:
- Be realistic and simple.
- Do not squeeze too many steps in.
- Be intentional.
- Replace bad activation triggers with good ones.
- View Workday Startup Rituals as a non-negotiable calendar event.
- Remember: people can wait for a reply! Always remove distractions.
Want some help optimizing your Workday Startup Ritual? The book a call with me here and let’s get started!
13 PRODUCTIVE THINGS TO DO DURING YOUR WORKDAY STARTUP RITUAL
There are tons of easy things you can do to start your workday on the right foot, but keep in mind that you should not try to implement an entirely new routine but just supplement a few bad habits at a time with better ones.
The below covers actions I have personally found incredibly critical in building habits I’ve always wanted, finding clarity, and boosting my productivity:
- Reflect with The Productivity Flow’s Workday Rituals Journal
- Review your long-term vision
- Review your weekly goals
- Write down your daily priorities
- Batch 2-minute tasks
- Write down your mantras
- Read
- Meditate
- Plan your day’s meals
- Silence notifications
- Write down 3 things you are grateful for
- Define what productivity means for today
- Shake it out
This is really good inspiration to save for later! So be sure to download your FREE GUIDE by clicking that button below, entering your info, then checking your email!
1) Reflect with TPF’s Workday Rituals Journal
Sure, it’s helpful to tell you how to optimize your Startup Ritual – but I figured I could really help if I offered a feasible way to fit many of my recommendations seamlessly into your routine.
So, I created the Workday Rituals Journal based on my own routine! This printable and fillable journal is a set of reusable worksheets with different reflection questions for both your weekly and daily Startup and Shutdown Rituals. It includes numbers 3, 6, 11, and 12 from the list above, plus much more!
At the end of my workdays, I open tomorrow’s Startup page and leave it on my desk so it is the first thing I see when I arrive the next morning. In other words, this journal has also served as a fantastic activation trigger, so be sure to check it out!
2) Review Your Long-term Vision
It’s too easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day grind – especially working from home – which makes it that much more important to remember why you are doing what you are doing in the first place.
Having a vision for the future is a form of intrinsic motivation you simply cannot find anywhere else. If you do not have a long-term vision yet, head to this blog to create one!
3) Review Your Weekly Goals
After you review your vision, it’s a good idea to then take a look at your weekly goals as an another refresher on your bigger purpose.
When you remind yourself of the results you are after, priorities become pretty clear. This makes planning the day that much easier!
4) Write Down Your Daily Priorities
There’s been many studies that prove those who write it down get it done, which is why this may be one of the most productive suggestions on the list.
Once you review your weekly goals, break it down and figure out what you can do today that will push you closer. I strongly suggest outlining your day during yesterday’s Workday Shutdown Ritual, so take a look at your schedule and your goals to determine today’s purpose.
If you lose focus later in the day, go back to your priorities and just ensure those get done. At the end of the day, you will feel accomplished rather than overwhelmed with unchecked to do’s.
5) Batch 2-Minute Tasks
This trick is a combination of the batching technique and the 2-Minute Rule which I learned from David Allen’s book Getting Things Done.
Batching tasks is a huge time and energy saver because it removes context switching – or going back and forth between different tasks. To successfully batch, you simply do all of the tasks that fall within the same theme / group back-to-back.
The 2-Minute Rule is one of my favorites since it truly works! Essentially, if a task has been on your mind or just popped up and takes 2 minutes or less to fully complete, do it now to get it out of your head and free up mental space for more important things.
Uniting the two methods, then, means doing related, quick tasks that you need to just get off of your plate. Oh so simple, and oh so effective!
Here’s a friendly reminder to download your FREE GUIDE! Simply click that button below, enter your name and email, then check your inbox!
6) Write Down Your Mantras
A mantra is basically a slogan or saying that you live by. I used to say my mantras to myself in my head, but I have learned that writing them down not only helps me remember them more, but also helps instill them into my mentality so I actually live by them.
A few of my favorite mantras that I write down every morning are:
- Trust the process
- Move 1% forward
- Productivity means imperfection
7) Read
Some days – if not most – it’s a challenge to find that inspiration to get business up and running once you sit at your desk.
A great way to stir up motivation is to read a book on a topic you want to know more about. For example, each workday my Startup Ritual begins with reading a productivity, business, or finance related book for 20 minutes.
It feels really good knowing I have only been in my office for less than half an hour, and I have already learned something new.
8) Meditate
Scrolling through Netflix recently, I stumbled upon a wonderful docuseries by Headspace that teaches you how to meditate. Given my boyfriend’s newfound love for meditation, I curiously clicked play – and am so glad I did.
I have never been drawn to meditation before because it just never seemed like it was for me. However, Headspace described meditation as the practice of letting go, and I just needed to know more.
So many decisions in our day often feel like life or death in the moment, so learning how to let that go is key to grounding yourself for a good day.
Even if it is just for 1 minute, try it out for fun and just see what happens! Try checking out “Guide to Meditation” on Netflix and/or searching “Headspace” on YouTube for some guidance!
9) Plan Your Day’s Meals
Did you know that we make literally thousands of decisions a day? Talk about exhausting!
When meal or snack time rolls around, I know I always had trouble deciding what I wanted to eat. That’s why I started outlining my food in the morning so I would no longer have to make those choices later on. It really helps reduce my decision fatigue.
This has not only quickened my meal time, but given me even more time to take a break during my lunches.
10) Silence Notifications
Distractions like hearing a ping from your phone or computer consume a lot more energy than you may realize, so help yourself a little bit!
If you have an iPhone, I strongly recommend using the Focus feature in your settings. Now, my phone is automatically silenced from 9:30 AM – 6 PM from Monday – Friday, but accepts texts and calls from contacts I selected. I also do not have any notifications set up on my computer to avoid distracting pop-ups and sounds.
Also, don’t forget to download your FREE GUIDE! All you gotta do is click that button below, add your info, then check your email!
11) Write Down 3 Things You Are Grateful for
It is often easier to think about what we do not have / what we want over what we do have, yet such negative self-talk can be detrimental to mental health.
Especially when times are rough, you should begin your day by counting your blessings and feeling grateful for your situation. This shows you that you are not alone, and there are always reasons to keep pushing forward.
12) Define What Productivity Means for Today
If you feel overwhelmed by all of the possible tasks have to do, it’s time to take a step back and break it down some more.
Ask yourself, “Today will be a productive day if…?” Try to limit yourself to just 3 things, which many studies say is the magic number to reduce stress and feeling overloaded.
13) Shake it Out
Starting my own business has honestly been really scary, so many days I feel like I have crazy jitters when I get to my desk.
One morning, my boyfriend could tell I was struggling. He pulled me up from my desk, grabbed my hands, started shaking / dancing with me, and told me to just let it all out. I felt totally silly, but that was precisely what I needed in that moment.
Now, whenever I started to feel anxious, I just shake it all out, take a breathe, and restart. And you can, too!
CONCLUSION
Being intentional with your Workday Startup Ritual is a great way to put your mental health first, create better discipline, find clarity, and automate your results.
When optimizing your current routine, be sure to make healthy, realistic choices, and do not try to squeeze too much into your workflow.
Also, here’s your final friendly reminder to get your FREE GUIDE so you can use these tips and steps when you need them most. Just click that button below, add your name and email, then check your inbox!
There are a myriad of ways you can spend your Startup Ritual, so if you need a way to get started check out the Workday Rituals Journal and / or reach out to me here!