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Scrolling vs. a blank Google Doc (Which are you choosing?)

Feb 11, 2026
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I've been having so much fun lately making social posts. 

So this morning, I got into my office a bit early and thought "Ooh, maybe I should jump in and do some of that right now."

But then I remembered something that James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, said at a conference I attended with him the other year.

He said he wins his day by what he does his first 5 minutes in the office.

He comes down with his morning coffee, walks into his office, pulls up his computer, and either...

(⬇️ Btw, watch instead of reading, or read on below.)

ESPN vs. the blank Google Doc (Which are you choosing?)
  1. Goes to ESPN to see what happened in sports overnight, OR
  2. Logs in and opens a Google Doc.

And even if he has nothing to write or say, he will sit and stare at that Google Doc while drinking his coffee.

After all, he's a writer. He gives us valuable nuggets we can use to do incredible things in our own lives. (Thank you, James, for doing that.)

So that's the most important thing in his business—showing up every day prepared to start writing.

But he could scroll ESPN first. We're only talking 5 minutes...right? đź‘€

The thing is, we minimize the impact of these micro-decisions we make.

We think, "Oh, it’s no big deal. I'll just scroll for a few minutes." Or "I'll just do a quick post on social media."

But what if instead, we start with the thing that makes the bigger difference in our life or business?

So I’m doing that.

Instead of choosing the easy thing (social media), I chose the harder thing: Recording this video for you! Giving you a little nugget that will hopefully help YOU do incredible things in your life.

So...what it is for you?

What's the thing you know if you do first—if you start there—it will change the trajectory of the rest of your day? (And by extension, the trajectory of your week/month/quarter/year/LIFE.)

What will set you on the right path for the day, as opposed to believing the lie that those quick couple minutes doing that other little thing won’t really affect anything?

Because it does.

It changes the way our brain reacts. It changes the way we approach the next task after.

So that's my challenge for you today: Start your first 5 minutes with the right thing!

Love doing life with you,

Dawn

 

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