How to get ahead before breakfast

The paper and a cup of coffee might seem like the perfect morning, but if you are hoping to get ahead you will have to dig a little deeper.

“It’s the time of day that is least likely to get away from you,” says Laura Vanderkam.

Vanderkam is the author of the new eBook “What the Most Successful People do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Morning and Life.”

Whether you are going for professional or personal growth, she says high priority items should be first on your list every morning.

“We often think of our careers in terms of things we have to do. Professional growth is about things we want to do,” says Vanderkam.

Once you are at the office you have phone calls, emails, and everything else demanding your time. Sometimes it is hard to just sit and think.

“What’s the next client I want to go after? What would I like my career to look like in the next two years? Mornings are a great time to be thinking about those questions,” Vanderkam advises.

If your goal is more personal than professional, morning is also the best time time to take classes, sneak in a workout or spend quality time with the kids.

“Particularly if you’re not the primary care giver for your children, you often have to work late. Using that time with your kids or with your spouse is a great way to ensure that you give them your best rather than what’s left over at the end of the day,” says Vanderkam.

It sounds great, but what about those of us who want to do it all?! You can only get so much done in a few hours before work, right?

“Especially if you have very young kids that are up at the crack of dawn, you may have to choose one thing that you want to do in the mornings,” admits Vanderkam.

You can also think creatively. If you have a spouse or partner you can alternate mornings with the kids, and you might need to consider setting the alarm an hour earlier.

Do not try to figure out a plan first thing in the morning. Just as you would track your eating before going on a diet, before you start trying to tackle a new morning routine you should track your time for a few days.

“If you’re staying up until midnight watching television, it’s going to be very difficult to get up at 6 a.m. But if you figure out, well, what are the actual shows I do want to watch, you could perhaps record them and watch them while you’re on a treadmill at 6 a.m.” says Vanderkam.

If you are still not sure where to start, check out Vanderkam’s eBook. It is only about 40 pages – short enough you could actually read it before breakfast.