Curating my morning without coffee

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I am strong believer in the fact that the state of your mind is the primer you need if to be more productive in your day.( ps i only do this in weekdays, i am generally a lazy person during weekends)

I run multiple organizations/projects:

• I run EDEL Technology consulting ( We are right in the middle of launching 3 new consulting products)
• I run Women in Tech Africa ( we launched a 3yr Partnership with MTN , we are planning the years #womenintechweek in 10 countries to connect over 10,000 globally)
• I am a paid speaker globally speaking on entrepreneurship and technology in Africa. spoken at oxford , G20 Summit  etc
• I do innovation consulting with past clients like AWDF, MTN ,World Bank.
• I have a show/web series called #EthelCofieStartUpSchool

 

So I  have to curate my mornings so I can be in the right state of mind to deliver consistently  or i would get nothing done ….

• Grudgingly wake ( I am not a morning person and to make it worse I stopped drinking coffee 6 months ago for health) 
• I try not to reach for my phone whilst doing meditating/daily thankfulness recap (I don’t always win that battle but its getting better). It’s good to be thankful, it gives you context.

2a. If I do reach for my phone I try to limit to reading my daily Bible Verse of the day (I am  a Christian), LinkedIn and Emails. I try not to answer any emails at this point

• I get ready for my morning run by listening to music. Depending on how things are going, I am either listening to Meditation music or Christian music.I am currently listening to: Intentional by Travis Greene

[Video]

 

• I get on the threadmill for 30 mins . I am mostly listening to productivity or business podcasts. If life is hitting me really hard I am most likely to listen to a preacher like TD Jakes/ .At this point I am listening a lot to Tony Robbins

 

• Head to the shower, Now I can I give in to my social media, turn on TV (CNN) addictions. :)
• Get Ready for the day ( i.e decide what to wear etc)
• Plan my morning – I go through this process ..
  1. What are the outcomes/results I want today (it’s usually make a sale, close a sale or get paid). Ps I like getting paid!
  2. What is the one thing I can do on [a specific category] of my business, and by doing that I make all other tasks easier.

The categories for my business activities are

1. Creating business demand
2. Company Operations
3. Managing Customer delivery

All else I try to delegate…

• Then Leave the house for the office or for my first meeting of the day.

 

Anyways I hope this helps you plan your day better

Ps I listen to a lot of podcast , a lot like 25 GB of data every week ( I try to listen whilst I work , in between meeting)

My favorite podcast are

• Freakanomics – A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything economist Steven Levitt and New York Times journalist Stephen J. Dubner.
• The Tim Ferris show– each episode, Tim deconstruct world-class performers from eclectic areas (investing, sports, business, art, etc.) to extract the tactics, tools, and routines you can use.  This includes favorite books, morning routines, exercise habits, time-management tricks, and much more.
• Accidental Creative – The podcasts will help you have better ideas, collaborate seamlessly, and thrive under pressure.
• Revisionist History – Malcolm Gladwell’s journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every episode re-examines something from the past
• The Unmistakable Creative – Guests on The Unmistakable Creative have included happiness researchers, ex-cons, peak performance psychologists, graffiti artists, bestselling authors