Most people think that breakfast should be the first thing a person does in the morning, but the savvy minorities know that the time prior to breakfast can be the most productive.

This is because it is when a person may focus, because they have not yet encountered the worries and distractions that haunt the honest citizen’s day.

Here’s a way we bloggers can use this precious snippet of time in the most productive and efficient way.

The night before

We all have to-do lists, but the most effective to-do lists are written the night before.

Bullet point all the tasks you need to do before you have breakfast the next day. When the morning comes, you must go down the list, one bullet point at a time, until you reach the bullet point that says “breakfast.”

The trick is to single-mindedly complete each bullet point in turn. Do not try to do two at the same time, or try to change the order. Take on one task until it is done, then move onto the next.

Add to your ideas journal

This is a file into which you put all the ideas that come to you during the day. It contains notes and things to research that relate to your ideas.

How you make this file is up to you; you can create a list, or create a folder and put different folders inside for ideas, notes, research, questions, and so on.

If you have a smartphone or tablet, then create an ideas journal on there so that you can add to it during your day.

Check your mail

Once you have added any of your early morning ideas to your ideas journal, you should check your mail.

This is going to alert you to anything that may disrupt your day. It also keeps you up to date on what has been happening while you were asleep.

Plan your day

Spend a few minutes coming up with five tasks that you must complete today.

If you have the time free, then come up with a detailed plan, but just keep an eye on the time. You don’t want your breakfast to turn into lunch.

Create a comment answering window

If you have a successful blog, then you are going to get comments 24/7. These could take you forever to answer, but regularly replying to your comments is a very good way to keep the conversations alive on your blog.

So you need to section off a part of your morning to answer comments. Dedicate ten minutes to non-stop comment answering. You won’t get them all, but you will get enough so that you keep the online conversation moving (poke the fire a little).

You can do more commenting and give fuller answers to people’s comments later in the day, if and when you have the time.

Check for updates

We all hate updating Java, iTunes, WordPress plugins, and so on, but it must be done. So do it in the morning.

Pick something to update (you are often prompted by your computer) and set it in motion while you cook and eat your breakfast. By the time you have finished eating your breakfast it should be done.

If you keep your software updated, it’s less likely to be hacked, to run slowly, or to crash. This way, you are using your “down time” (while you’re eating) in a very efficient way.

What’s your morning routine?

How do you use the time before breakfast to set yourself up fro a full day (or less if you’re juggling other commitments) of blogging? Share your secrets with us in the comments.

This guest post is by Julie Carr of Plagtracker.com. Julie J Carr is a freelance writer. She writes for new free-to -use plagiarism checker – Plagtracker. She is keen on new technologies, adores flavoured coffee and books, and likes to visit places where she can enjoy the latter two at the same time. You can mail her at juliej.carr@yahoo.com