Day 1 - 31 Day Productivity Challenge

I struggle with procrastination ... I mean who doesn't?!  I complain about how little time I have to get everything done ... but the reality is most of the time I'm just lazy.  I don't want to clean the kitchen, instead I want to watch the HIMYM rerun I've seen 10 times ... I don't want to finish the work I know I need to finish bc I want to clear off my email and Google Reader feed ...

I spend a lot of time justifying my procrastinating actions ... But they haven't gotten me anywhere ...

Here's why this is so important to me!

In May of last year I opened my own law practice ... At times I have been quite busy and others have been incredibly slow ... I like being busy because that means less financial stress ... but I wil be honest in saying that I love the slow times more ... Why? Because I can read a book, check Facebook, spend hours on Pinterest, house hunt, go shopping, get my hair done, etc ... I have been pretty justified that when I do not have work to do and things are slow that I can just do whatever I want ...

But this mentality is killing my business.  There is always something that can be done ... ALWAYS.  There are always blog posts I can write, marketing events I can attend, or simply taking the time to catch up with old clients or friends who might be in need of my services.

So today I embark on a 31 day journey to become more productive and use my time for wisely ... If you tips, tricks, marketing tools ... anything that can pull me and my business out the slump I would love to hear them!

So far today I have been the most productive I have been in a while ... It is 1:52 p.m. and a good chunk of my To-Do list is finished ...

And as much as I hate to admit it - the cause for my extreme productivity to start the week: Getting up at 5:30!  I got up and carpooled with my husband this morning, which meant that I had roughly 2 hours of downtime before work even started today (oh, I know I'm going to be paying for it later when I'm too tired to function).  It gave me some "me time" to catch up on some reading, read my Bible, check Facebook updates, make a good action list for the day, and de-stress before the day even started!

I don't think I will continue getting up at 5:30 in the morning, but I think I need to start setting my alarm 30 minutes earlier so I can use that extra time to get  a few of the things done that I know need to be done before my day truly starts ...

Just a note:  This was extremely hard for me to admit since I LOVE to sleep!  I hate alarm clocks with a passion.  And last but not least ... I am NOT a morning person!  But maybe that is just the change I need.

Any tips or tricks for turning yourself into a morning person?