Leaving on an Airplane (Mode)

Of all the hacks I'm obsessed with right now, turning my phone on airplane mode from 9pm–9am is probably my favorite. When you work for yourself, you can fall into the habit of being always on call. Really, how productive can you be after a certain point in the day? By dedicating blocks of time to focused work (I've been using the Pomodoro Technique – more on that soon...) you earn yourself the right to set aside time that's truly your own to rest, relax and set intentions for yourself – professional or personal.
By not looking at your email first thing when you wake up, you're setting your own pace for the day – not working on someone else's agenda. Each day, upon rising, I've been writing Morning Pages – three longhand pages of random thoughts, weird dreams, nagging situations... it serves as a way to clear the pipeline for the day. I follow that up with a liter of warm lemon water to get a jump on my eight glasses a day, flush out toxins and alkalize. I then do 20 minutes of Headspace Meditation ("A gym membership for the mind") to keep things in perspective. Then it's coffee and breakfast, and THEN, only then, do I flick off airplane mode and see what's trickled in overnight and as my clients begin checking off their to-do lists with tasks for me. 
As much as technology connects us to other people, it serves to disconnect us from ourselves if we let it. It's time to take back the night (and morning!) for ourselves. Work productivity increases when we preserve our internal reserves.