What is the first thing you do when you sit down at a computer?

Seth Godin proposes in his most recent blog post that it is probably to consume information of some sort. This could take many forms from checking email, facebook, twitter, or even our website statistics to see how many visitors we have that day.  Seth then goes on to make the point that the first thing we should do is create.  I’ve heard this suggestion many times in different forms and I’ve been attempting to follow some of this advice.  I’ve heard it said if you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is pick up your phone and read your email you are looking for people to give you something to do.  Again, in a similar vein, if the first thing you do when you get to work is check and respond to email then you have lost your best opportunity to get something done by being interrupted and told what to do.

Recently, I’ve been trying to check my email less (and specifically not first thing in the morning or first thing when I get to work) and I’ve been trying to go right in to work before I even talk to anyone and close my door and get something done in the first hour and a half.  I have found that on days where I work and get one thing (usually the most important for the day) done before I’m distracted by the rest of they day, my whole day is more productive. Rather than constantly consume and follow directions I have been proactive and taken the bull by the horns and accomplished something.

To echo what Seth said, “If you’re an artist, a leader or someone seeking to make a difference, the first thing you do should be to lay tracks to accomplish your goals…” So if you are wanting to get a business website going and you’ve been wanting to for months or years now, just do it.  Start with the first link on the Business Websites 101 page and get hosting.  You don’t even need to have a domain name or know what you will call your business.  Just do something that gets the ball rolling and pretty soon you’ll be surprised where you end up in a week or two.  In a year your life will be completely different.


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One response to “What is the first thing you do when you sit down at a computer?”

  1. Jared Avatar

    Sadly I am one of the worst offenders when it comes to this. My Iphone is my alarm so when I turn it off I see my emails… usually around 10 or 11 each night. I find myself opening and reading them before I even get out of bed which if I respond can be 15 minutes later. I am going to try for the next week to not do this. I have to much work to do and way to many goals to reach to be waisting my time in bed responding to emails. I keep up a weekly blog about Utah Lifestyle, I may try to work on a post first thing each morning rather than checking my email.

    I love the idea of creating first thing in the day.

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