How 10 Minutes Of Meditation Will Keep You From Going Insane

Stop starting your days full of stress and anxiety and spend 10 minutes meditating before you start your to-do list...

One of the worst ways to start your day is to wake up with your mind running wild, writing its figurative to-do list and then writing it again. All before you've set a foot out of bed. Too often I found myself waking up this way. As a startup founder running a fast moving company like PromoJam, this became a horrifying groundhog day routine. It became so routine that I would go as far as to etch to do's on the mirror steamed up from my morning shower just so I wouldn't forget to add it to my Teux Deux list on my iPhone.

For a while this obsession would give me a false sense of confidence. I thought that because my mind was so actively focused on work from sunrise to sundown I was somehow being more effective and more productive. This couldn't have been further from the truth. By the time I was in the office at my desk, I had exhausted much of brain's fresh energy on building the most comprehensive daily to-do list as humanly possible.

Sadly I was just draining myself of my most creative and productive brain power before I had even sat in my desk, wrote my first email or met with my team.

The cruel thing is its an entrepreneur's job is to constantly build this to do list every day. New opportunities mean new to do's and so on. The reality is there is no way to not wake up with a long list of tasks to tackle. Just recently I learned to leave this thought process waiting until I get to work. I do this by sitting through 10 minutes of meditation (or mindfulness if that sounds a bit more hip…) everyday before I head to work.

I know, I know at first pass this sounds like an awkward way to start your day. You're probably use to your routine of waking up scrolling through the morning emails from the comfort of your bed, showering, checking the news headlines, responding to a quick email, making breakfast and running out the door.

Here's all you need to add to that routine, download an app called Headspace and take 10 minutes in the morning, find a comfortable chair (preferably somewhere private) and let Andy Puddicombe guide you through a dead simple 10 minute guided meditation.

This isn't the sandals and candles type of meditation you're probably thinking of. The "Take 10" series, as Headspace calls it, is a no nonsense daily program for putting "mindfulness" into your daily routine.

This has done wonders for my daily productivity. It allows me to put all the stress and anxiety of the day to day grind aside for 10 minutes. I feel clear, calm and confident about the rest of my day and most importantly I feel comfortable putting my to-do list off until I am sitting at my desk where I can actually do something about it! 10 minutes of meditation takes all the mental anguish out of the mornings. It's a hassle free (and relaxing...) way to have a clear head when your walk in to your office and get to business.