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Would you like a new idea that could greatly impact your outlook, attitude, productivity and happiness? Would you be willing to make a change to your daily routine in order to increase your personal satisfaction and help you reach your goals faster than ever before? Are those accomplishments worth 30 minutes a day to you?

Thirty minutes is what you need ' thirty minutes at the start of your day. The habit that will help you gain all the benefits described above is to devote thirty minutes at the start of your day to yourself, your happiness and complete well being. This relatively short amount of time will help you start your day more purposefully and help you be more intentional about your day and your life.

There are a variety of things you can do during your thirty minutes, and as you read this list you may see some things that are already a part of your daily routine. The list isn't meant to be a checklist designed for you to try to complete each item every day. Rather it is a list from which you can choose those things that most appeal to you or that you feel will help you gain greater control, success and happiness in your day and life.

The List

Plan your day. Sit down with your planner or task list and review those things that must be accomplished today.

Pick the critical few. While your to-do list might be long, use a few minutes to determine the 1-3 things that must be accomplished today. Include at least one that furthers an important project or goal ' in other words don't focus only on the urgent things, but consider the important ones as well.

Review your goals. If you have a written goal list, use some of your thirty minutes to re-read them, reviewing your progress and seeing yourself accomplishing them.

Pray, meditate or reflect. Depending on your spiritual beliefs, you may choose to pray during this time. If that isn't a part of your beliefs, you may choose to reflect on the previous day, looking for lessons and ideas, as well as resolutions to important challenges you might face in the coming day.

Prepare for the key moments. Perhaps on this day you will be giving a presentation, making an important sales call, asking for a raise, or any of a thousand other important things. Use some of your 'Golden Thirty' to mentally prepare and walk through those moments.

Exercise or stretch. You can use some of your thirty minutes for your exercise regimen. If you don't regularly exercise, you might consider doing some stretching. Recognize that during this physical activity you may be able to do some of the other items on this list (depending on how you are exercising). Remember to consult your physician before making a significant change to your exercise patterns.

Read something positive or uplifting. Read something inspirational, motivational or spiritual. Those few minutes early in your day feeding your mind positive thoughts will pay dividends all day long.

Make progress on a learning goal. If you are working to learn something new or build your expertise in some area, 30 minutes a day of effortful study can make you a world expert within a couple of years. Don't want to be a world expert? Then it won't take you as long to learn what you want!

Things to Exclude

As important as the list of things to do, there are things to exclude during this time. Keeping these things out of this golden thirty minutes are as important as what you include. These things should be excluded because they won't positively impact the start of your day.

The morning paper and television news. If you need to be informed, get what you need in smaller doses, but don't mix it into your 'Golden Thirty' minutes.

The Snooze bar. Build the habit of getting up when you have determined you need to get up. Hitting the snooze bar once is fine, but if you are hitting it over and over you won't have your thirty minutes, and it will be straight to the shower!

The second (or third) cup of coffee. Perhaps you want a cup of coffee or tea during your first thirty minutes. That is fine, but try to avoid putting too much caffeine into your body during this time of purposeful planning and preparation.

Finding the Time

You may be wondering where you are going to find thirty minutes in your day. Remember you aren't going to find those minutes ' you are going to have to make them. Making this time may require going to bed a few minutes earlier or taking things out of your morning routine (like too many minutes of morning news). Making the time will be one of the most challenging parts of creating this new habit, but after the first several days you will see the benefits far outweigh what you've 'given up' to make it happen.

But I'm Not a 'Morning Person'

Ben Franklin said, 'Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.' Though I am sure Ben was a 'morning person,' I am equally sure that there are differences in people's body clocks. So while this may be much easier for some than for you, don't use that as an excuse. Notice I haven't told you to start your thirty minutes by setting your alarm for 5 a.m. ' all I've suggested is making time at the start of your morning. Your start may be at 5, or it may be at 9. The time of day matters far less than the timing ' your golden thirty minutes should start very soon after you awaken.

This habit, like many others, will take some time to implement. But if you keep at it you will quickly see the benefits, making this one habit you will embrace and be glad it has become a permanent part of your life.