How Do You Start Your Day?

I start my day waking up to the smell of coffee brewing around 6 AM. It's a nice way to wake up. I don't have an alarm clock but I always seem to wake up about the same time every day so I set the coffee pot accordingly.

After a few cups of coffee while checking my email, I'll usually solve a sudoku puzzle and then take a walk around the block with my iPod to try to burn off some excess energy that I know would only distract me the rest of the day if I don't.

I also use that time for some problem solving. I've always got a few projects going at once and I'm always trying to figure out a solution to a problem or how to make something work and my mind seems to work better when I'm out walking and not distrracted by other stuff.

Solutions excite me so when I come up with something good, I can't wait to get home and work the solution into whatever it is I'm working on.

I don't have the ability to "plan" my day. My mind can't seem to work like that. It's one of those ADD type traits.

Every day, I need to "create", and I need to do something that can hold my interest. My energies for the day are usually spent on whatever project I'm feeling most creative with and excited about at the moment. I'll work on whatever that is until that excitment level is gone or a greater one comes up.

I don't have the ability to work on two things at the same time. When I'm focused on one project, I'm "hyperfocused" and not much can distract me, but I always have multiple projects going because I know that when I come to a roadblock or a solution I can't figure out on one, I can easily shift to another one until that solution is figured out.

I work at two speeds - I'm either at 100% or 0% and there's no middle ground.

So I guess the answer to the question is that I never really know how my work day will start until I'm out walking and working where it all gets sorted out, but even what I come up with on that walk often changes.

Jim