I once lived with a guy in college who would start every day with a mantra as he looked into the mirror. "I am going to have a good day," he would say over and over to himself. I soon realized that he was not into transcendental meditation but was simply trying to put a positive spin on an otherwise bleak part of his day. He was, I soon learned, the farthest thing from a morning person.

How else can you develop "Day Focus"? Day Focus is that ability to start and end every day with a clear sense of who you are and more importantly, what you want to get done in any given day. Here are some tips:

Get up at a reasonable time. While I try to start my weekdays at around 5:15am, I think that a reasonable approach is best- not too early nor too late. Lounging is not usually a virtue in the productivity world.

Get your important things done before you tucker out. If the 2 o'clock blues hit after lunch, get your stuff done before then.

Do something physical. Walking around, working out, breathing. You get the point. Benedictan monks had it right when they coined the phrase "ora et labora" (pray and work).

End your day with some 'buffer time'. Even great marathoners have a "cool down" period after a race. Take 15 minutes to relax, meditate and ease into your sleeping time.