Name: Russell McIntosh
Business: Trade Show Training
1. Do you action/plan/do anything specific to prepare for the morning the night before?
I write out a ‘to-do’ list for the following day on scrap paper. This has actual time appointments (eg – drop kids at school, meeting with accountant) and then tasks that I want to complete.
2. What time do you wake up? And how do you do it? Ie, alarm, someone wakes you up or it just happens naturally.
6.40am – Alarm is set for. Try to get the shower, etc out of the way before kids wake up so I am completely theirs for the lead up to school. Some mornings this alarm gets completely ignored and we get out of bed at 7.30 and everyone and everything is running late. We blame the kids and then feel guilty and admit to being bad parents.
3. What is the VERY first thing you do after you wake up? If you eat, what do you eat?
Swear in my head, as in “F&*@!! It can’t be that time already” – Seriously. Then I usually do a quick reflection on the sleep to review whether I had a good or bad night. If it is good night with no child interruptions, I get stressed that they have been kidnapped or aren’t breathing. If it is a bad night, I curse my children under my breath and look up the policy for selling children on eBay.
4. What is your first drink of the day? Where are you when you’re drinking it?
Instant coffee. In the kitchen whilst preparing the kids lunches.
5. What part of your morning routine makes you feel the best?
Dropping the kids at school. I have a feeling that I have done something good for the family and it is also my release to then get started with my work. It acts as a kind of cleanse……..and I feel free. I usually put on some 80’s love ballad in the car and sing it very loudly and then convince myself that I will be the next mature age star on ‘The Voice’ with the judges saying “Where have you been?”, we are awarding you the competition and prize money on the spot… only to then have the song interrupted by a telemarketer selling me a cost-effective solar package with a once only discount especially set-up for bald people in my street.
6. What part of the routine could you really live without?
Checking my phone for anything. I will generally look at what has happened in the news or check email. The news is just going to be negative (eg – murder, accident, tsunami, etc) and I seem to wake each morning thinking that there will be an email waiting for me that is going to change my life……I only ever really just clear out the spam or learn that Bonds has a 40% off everything sale for the 46th time this month.
7. Describe your ideal morning
Be woken by the kids (after 7), wrestle with them, breakfast at home whilst doing the crossword with wife. Simple but stressless… and yes, the kids are in front of the TV watching something ludicrously un-educational but we just got 8 across and it sets us up for 9, 11 and 14 down and we are on fire!
Comments