Affectionately known as Power Hour. Or Golden Hour. Or anything remotely resembling the first hour of your day.

To clarify, I don’t mean the first hour of your workday or of your workout. I simply mean the very first hour you become conscious upon waking up from whatever sleep you did or didn’t receive last night.

The reasoning behind this label of most important is because what you do within this hour sets the tone for your entire day. Many business professionals and successful entrepreneurs swear by a tried-and-true routine each day, including weekends. Often it takes the form of re-hydration, mindfulness, and exercise.

Personally, I enjoy a cup of coffee and a good book while stretched across two dining chairs and repeating the mantra “munchkin, please don’t wake up before I’m 3/4 into this cup”. Sometimes I make it through the whole mug, sometimes I get whispered pleas to share said coffee. Hey, you do whatever works for you!

So why is it important to devote an hour to you?

…because no one else will. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. You can wish, hope, and think yourself into setting a power hour chock full of good intentions, but it means absolutely nothing if you won’t commit to it.

Start simple. Fill up your reusable water bottle (think green, folks; plastic bottles are senseless; please remember not to freeze glass bottles unless you like digging through your freezer with a vacuum attachment looking for shards that somehow eerily resemble ice chips, not that I’ve ever had to deal with a similar situation). Find a notebook and pen (stop. I know everything is digital now; get over it. you need a real piece of paper and an ink pen. that stylus won’t work here). Seek out a quiet place (nope, try again, the local coffee shop doesn’t count. those places are louder than an airport).

Do you see where I’m going with this? Get out of your head and into your head. Put your thoughts on paper – goals, worries, daydreams, whatever it is that makes you think. This isn’t the time for a to-do list. Save that for when your boss is paying you to work (to my boss: I don’t practice what I preach so we’re safe).

Each day update what you did in the days prior. Or don’t! This is your time to reflect. If you stand by ‘the past is in the past’, then good for you. But if you need to see what you’ve written make forward progression, then good for you, too. No one asks to see your notes. Make this about YOU.

And once 60 minutes have been reached, begin your day with a little more space available in your overflowing mind. Kick ass.

____________________________________________________________

I ask you –

Do you have a goal for completing your power hour? Twice a week? 7 days a week?

At what age did you realize self-care was important?

Share your routine with us!