Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - September 6th

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.  - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today. - Elbert Hubbard

Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure. - Confucius

Summer is officially over even though the weather may not yet reflect it.  It’s time to get back into the “swing of things”!  

With the long weekend, your morning may have been rush…rush…rush!  Did you plan/prepare appropriately for this wonderful Tuesday morning on Monday evening?  If not, how did it make you feel?  Most likely, it was overwhelming and/or frustrating and you may have said the last time you had a long weekend that you would plan better on your next long weekend to have a smoother transition back into the work week.   

I work from home and I never have two days exactly the same.  For example, I may work from home doing research one day and the next day I may have meetings on The Hill.  Almost every day, I get up, exercise and do the repetitive tasks on my to-do list.  Around 8:30am, I shower to break up my day.  However, that even changes if I have a morning breakfast and have to be somewhere by 8am! 

My last two weeks I have had meetings on The Hill and had dinner out a couple nights.  I am a very scheduled individual and when my usual routine gets “disturbed” it causes me to feel jolted and that I am not accomplishing anything.   

To ensure that I set myself up for success, I have learned to prepare the night before.  I clean up the kitchen after dinner, prepare the coffee pot for my morning cup of “JOE!”, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, check my schedule to determine what the next day holds, select appropriate attire if I have any meetings in the city, prepare any snacks or meals I may need to take with me, etc.  Alexander Graham Bell stated it well when said:

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.  

CHALLENGE: What tasks do you need to do in an evening to prepare to have a calm and enjoyable morning experience and set yourself up for success?  In the Additional Resources, there are some ideas to start you thinking.  Remember to select things that will set YOU up to have a successful day!

Additional Resources
http://moneysavingmom.com/2012/08/make-the-most-of-your-mornings-your-day-starts-the-night-before-day-2.html

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2011/09/05/bookend-your-day-the-power-of-morning-and-evening-routines/

The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work superbly well. - William Osler