How much does the first hour of every day matter? As it turns out, a lot. It can be the hour you see everything clearly, get one real thing done, and focus on the human side of work rather than your task list.
Here are the first items on the daily to-do lists of some successful people:
• Don’t Check Your Email for the First Hour. Seriously. Stop That. (Tumblr founder David Karp)
• Gain Awareness, Be Grateful (motivational speaker Tony Robbins)
• Do the Big, Shoulder-Sagging Stuff First (career writer and Fast Company blogger Brian Tracy)
• Ask Yourself If You’re Doing What You Want to Do (discussed by Steve Jobs in his 2005 Stanford commencement speech)
• “Customer Service” (or Your Own Equivalent) (Craigslist founder Craig Newmark)
“Hitting the ground running” definitely helps build momentum for the rest of the day.