Morning Productivity

A morning motivational talk to ground yourself before you start your day. It's great to listen to when you are feeling rushed or overwhelmed by all you need to achieve that day.

Transcript

This is a 10 minute meditation that you can listen to at the beginning of your hectic day so that you can ground yourself to be more focused and productive throughout the day.

Find yourself a quiet space where you can be alone and sit,

Stand,

Or lay down as you prefer to be most comfortable,

Relaxed,

And focused.

Even though your day has just barely begun,

You may already be feeling the rush of all of the many things you have to do today.

You may be thinking about many of them.

You may be feeling worry,

Fear,

Or anxiety about how or whether you're going to accomplish everything.

You may be feeling physical symptoms in your stomach,

In your head,

Or on your skin.

My first suggestion then is to pause and take one long,

Deep breath.

Take a long and slow inhale right now,

Taking the air all the way in.

And then one long,

Slow exhale,

Gently releasing all of the air from the body.

And then reminding yourself that at any point during the day when you're feeling overwhelmed by everything that you have to do,

You have the opportunity,

The capacity,

And the time to pause and take one deep breath if you have time for nothing else and to feel the effects of taking that deep breath.

I suggest that you even imagine right now something that you know or suspect will happen during the day,

Such as some task that you need to perform that you expect will feel stressful to you.

Picture yourself being in that situation.

Picture the space that you'll be in.

Imagine yourself being right in it.

And when you do that,

You may even feel the same feelings arise that you would when actually being in that situation.

And now picture yourself being in that moment and recognizing that you're in that stressful situation having to accomplish something.

And imagine being in that situation and remembering in that moment to pause and to take one long,

Deep breath in.

Take that deep breath in right now and be aware that you are breathing in.

Inhale,

Hold for a moment,

And then slowly exhale,

Letting the air release from your body and being aware that you are exhaling.

And by practicing noticing being in that situation,

By practicing remembering to pause and take a breath in that situation,

You may find that you increase your capacity when you are actually in that stressful situation to notice that you are in that situation and then to pause and take a deep breath in and out,

To be aware of that in-breath and out-breath,

And to feel the positive effects of taking just that one deep breath.

My next suggestion for practicing being focused and productive during your hectic day is to set your intention that before you start on any new task,

Whether it be a job assignment,

Doing something for your kids,

Or even meeting a friend,

Before you start doing any of those things,

To practice saying to yourself,

Either out loud or just in your mind,

Right now,

I am about to do X and only X.

For example,

If you perform this morning productivity meditation again tomorrow,

Before you start the meditation,

You might say to yourself,

Right now,

I am about to meditate and only meditate.

If you're about to start writing an email,

You might say to yourself,

Right now,

I am about to write an email and only write that email.

This is to help you practice setting your intention to engage in just one task at a time and to engage in that task fully while you are engaged in it.

And then,

If your mind starts to wander while you're performing that task,

As minds like to do,

Then you can practice returning to that intention that you set and to repeat your intention to do only the one thing that you are doing while you are doing it.

For example,

When you sit down to eat your lunch,

Even if it's a hurried five-minute lunch in between work or home tasks,

You might start by saying,

Right now,

I am about to eat and only eat.

And if while you're eating,

You notice your mind wandering from eating,

If you notice your mind thinking about something else,

You can pause and say again,

Right now,

I am eating and only eating.

By practicing this mantra,

If you will,

You may develop,

Maintain,

And strengthen that capacity of yours to engage fully with 100% of your attention,

Mind,

Body,

And spirit in whatever single task you're performing at a particular time.

My third and last suggestion for meditating to increase your focus and productivity is to practice pausing before you engage in a new task and to ask yourself consciously why you're about to engage in that task and to give yourself an answer.

There's no right or wrong answer.

The purpose of this practice is merely to practice being conscious of your own reasons and motivations for doing anything before you do it.

And whether that reason or motivation is a good reason or a bad reason or motivation isn't the point of this exercise.

Instead,

The point of this exercise is merely to practice becoming aware of your own thoughts and feelings when you choose to start engaging in a task.

And also to become aware of the fact that it is a choice and perhaps even to increase your capacity to choose.

So I suggest that right now you set your intention for today that whenever you finish one task and before you start the next,

Whenever you notice yourself about to switch tasks,

That you will pause and ask yourself,

Why am I about to do whatever it is that I'm about to do?

Right now I suggest picturing something you know you're going to do today,

Particularly anything that you might normally rush into doing without thinking.

Picture yourself in that situation.

See or hear the room or the environment that you're in.

Feel what it's like to be in that situation.

Feel yourself being just about to rush into that new task without thinking.

And imagine yourself pausing.

And now imagine yourself saying to yourself,

Why am I about to do this?

And pause and give yourself an answer.

And then imagine yourself reflecting on your answer and then making a decision about whether to actually embark on the task that you were just about to engage in or to change your mind based on the answer that you gave yourself.

This practice helps you both to pause,

To become conscious of your reasons for doing what you do,

And to practice exercising the capacity you have to make choices and to feel the freedom that you have to make choices,

Even when you might otherwise feel like you don't have any choice.

Now see if you can put this practice in which we just imagined being mindful in a future situation,

Into practice throughout your day in actual situations,

And pay attention to your experience of pausing and questioning yourself before starting new tasks.

I hope that you found this morning productivity meditation helpful and that you come back tomorrow and repeat this meditation again and keep repeating it.

It's in our nature for our mindfulness to fade throughout the day,

To fade from day to day,

And to require repeated practice over time to stay strong and to grow.

So keep practicing and I hope that by doing so you're able to be not only a bit more productive but also more grounded,

Focused,

And mindful while performing tasks throughout your day.

Reviews

Love the new technique to approach meditation! Namaste 🙏

Excellent! Great way to center oneself before work, school or life! Good job

Amazing meditation I’m doing it every day since a week now 🙏🏽

I absolutely loved this meditation. It is very applicable to as I tend to drift from tasks.

Also it’s a method I can share with people.

This morning meditation helps a lot, and helps you focus, and helps you become mindful about your day, and guides you on how to have a mindful day.

Also, this meditation helps break up different tasks; so you can focus and not feel overwhelmed.

Thank you for this meditation.

Sincerely,
Ashlyn Fay

Wow! So much in 10 minutes. Thank you l. I feel like I have a road map for the rest of my day 🌸

Great content! Wish us was a bit slower. Will listen again to digest in pieces.

Great to have these questions to help staying on a mindful path. Thank you.

Really resonated and made a lot of sense.
Some great advice and tools. Loved it.

Thank you for this amazing meditation. I will pay more attention to what I do and why.

I cannot wait to start my busy work day with my intention(s). Thank-you!

THANK YOU! I printed out “Right now, I am _____ and only ____ !” To post in my classroom for the students and more so ME!!!
Thank you. Adding to my favorites!

Brilliant, played it during morning routine (shaving, etc.).
Great reminders, brief pause, intention, nonjudgment, act with deliberation (avoids shave 🪒 nicks...).
Also promotes 'savor' mindset.

Thanks,

Dave

I love
*deep breath*
"Right now I am going to do x, and only x."

*deep breath*
set intention
"Why am I going to do y?"
reflect and commit to intention

Super amazing! It really helped me right now. Loved this practice and definitely going to come back to this! Thank you 🙏🦋💫

Intention setting before each task works in actuality and makes me feel more confident…thank you!

One of the most helpful and motivating meditations I’ve listened to!!

This is definitely one of the most impactful meditations on insight timer for me. Thank you.

This is a very intentional practice that is worth incorporating into day to day activities. Thank you🙏

This is just what I need from right before I’m doing an assignment.
Thank you 🙏🏼♥️