So I’ve decided in an effort to ‘inspire’ you, I’ll start posting what I do for my bonus hour every morning.

Remember, the trick to making the most of this hour is to get up and get busy on your predetermined task as soon as you roll out of bed.  Don’t take a shower first, don’t eat your breakfast.  Don’t do anything you normally do to “get ready” for the day.  (Except you can make your coffee!).

Be sure to set a timer for your ‘normal’ wake-up time (in my case that is 6:10am)….then when the timer goes off…..you can start your ‘normal’ wake-up routine.

To make the most of the bonus time, your predetermined task should be something you’ve been putting off, or something you can just never find the time (or focus) to do. I don’t use this hour for housecleaning or ‘chores’. I also try to not check emails or facebook during this bonus hour.  Last week I split the time- spending 1/2 an hour on the treadmill and the other 1/2 hour on a task.  Make sure you decide what task you are going to tackle before you go to bed!  Makes it much easier to get up in the morning when you are mentally prepared.

So what did I do this morning?

Well, I have to admit that I slept an extra 20 minutes, not getting out of bed until 5:20. After I made my coffee, I waxed my underarms (beats shaving every day!  Sorry if that’s TMI), then I remembered I needed to email something to someone….and then I got sidetracked checking email, then facebook….dang it!  I had planned on coloring my hair this morning, too….since the instructions said it would only take 10 minutes….but when I went to get started I realized that my hair was supposed to be damp/towel-dried, so I decided I was out of time.  I gave up and hopped in the shower early.

Today was not as productive as I would have hoped.  Tomorrow will be better.

(Yesterday I spent my hour doing the USDA food paperwork for my daycare- entering each child’s drop off and pick up time for the month, what they ate for snacks and lunch each day, then e-filing the report to the nutrition agency.  That took up the full hour.)