Several of my coachees have shared with me the value they found in starting a self-coaching morning routine to support their doctoral journey. Routines vary a bit, but in general, the routines support their journey by helping them get into an effective mind space to accomplish what they intend to do for the day.
Morning routines don’t need to take a lot of time. As little as ten minutes a day can be very effective in setting you up for success. If you already have a morning routine, consider adding this quick activity to give your routine a boost.
The self-coaching activity to start or add to your routine is a directed mini-thought download. Doing a directed mini-thought download is a quick and easy way to become aware of what could hold you back from doing your best that day and direct your mind to take on challenges from a resourceful state.
There are two steps to the directed mini-thought download activity.
Step 1, first thing in the morning, review the things you intend to do for the day and then spend up to five minutes writing down all your thoughts about those tasks on a piece of paper. Write without judgment. Don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or complete sentences. Focus on your feelings or the energy you imagine bringing to your tasks for the day.
Step 2, review your thoughts about your upcoming day. If your current thoughts and feelings are not acting as fuel to get your tasks done, then spend up to five minutes identifying thoughts and feelings that get you fired up. You get to decide what you want to believe about your day. Find your best thoughts, feelings, and energy to support yourself every day.
Essentially, in this exercise, you pinpoint and resolve the micro-barriers to getting your day to go your way. Go ahead and give yourself a pep talk every morning! It’s a wonderful way to start the day.