Most computers perform at their best when you first turn them on. It’s because their memory is as clear as it ever is, leaving plenty of resources for operation. In most operating systems, every time a piece of software runs, even if it is closed, there is still a lingering bit of resources that’s not fully cleared.
Our human brains run similarly. I find that the best time to be creative is first thing in the morning, before a bunch of stuff has started opening up in my head. Once I have started dealing with outside stimuli, my mind starts to get cluttered up. Some of that stuff sticks around, even after I have moved past it.
That makes this time, first thing in the morning, a powerful time to write and record. My mind is clear and full of my ideas.
What I try not to do is to check email or consume social media first thing in the morning. There are many things that I might find in either place which can hijack my mental processes. It is so easy to come across a piece of information on email or social media which snags out attention and holds a piece of it even after we have moved on.
This is, to some degree, by design. Most social media platforms want to keep you engaged, so they feed to you the kind of content that will stick in your mind. Contentious topics. Upsetting topics. Topics that you feel the need to engage with.
We see something that bothers or upsets us, and we feel the need to respond. Even if we resist the temptation, it sticks in the back of our mind. Of course, if we do respond it is much worse. Our comment will naturally draw other comments.
Suddenly our attention is consumed by an argument that doesn’t matter, which we didn’t need to have, often with someone who is not particularly important to us.
I encourage you to recognize the power and value of that time in the morning when your mind is freshly booted up, and all those programs haven’t started running.
Use that time to be creative.
Use that time to create content.
Use that time to meditate or journal.
Use that time as only that time can be used.
Invariably, our mind will clutter up again with all the concerns and conflicts of the day. But take advantage of that precious moment at the beginning of the day.
If you write just 500 words every morning, you’ll have written 182,500 words by the end of the year. Something to think about, before you think about everything else.
[…] I recently shared that if you write 500 words per day, you will write 182,500 words per year. That’s a lot of words. When you do something a lot you tend to get better at it. […]