“Have a grand vision.” “Pluck the low-hanging fruit.” “Eat your frog first.” “Focus on the task at hand.” “Just do it!”

The motivational market is full of advice, all of it useful, some of it conflicting, and none of it perfect, on how to start every day leaping out of bed with energy and enthusiasm for accomplishing your to-do list.

And frankly, as much as I love the concept of tackling the hard stuff first, I just can’t get excited about starting every day by eating a frog*. I only want to do that when I absolutely HAVE to!

So, in addition to these effective but difficult-to-keep-up-day-in-and-day-out ideas, how can we learn to jumpstart every day?

My favorite technique is this: When you wake up, immediately think about something FUN you are going to do that day. (Hint: In order to do this, you need to have something FUN planned every day! It can be as small as enjoying a cup of coffee while you read the news on your iPad, but you have to recognize and acknowledge the activity as FUN.)

Why does this work? Because your first thoughts trigger the way you start your day (jumping out of bed with energy and enthusiasm). Even if your FUN plans are later in the day, anticipating FUN helps you get through whatever you do before the FUN. And the feeling of satisfaction after FUN will carry  you through the rest of the day. Some days, you might even have FUN twice!

(Note: If you notice an analogy between FUN and sex in this article, it is unintended, but also unavoidable. FUN that incorporates physical activity, including sex and sports, has an even more powerful impact on your mental alertness than a solely intellectual activity.)

So, do you want to jumpstart every day? Make sure every day includes some FUN!

*Author’s Note: Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy is an excellent book on overcoming procrastination. It is referenced here solely to make a point, with complete respect for his work!

photo credit: isolino.