by Sarabeth Urech

Do you start your day with intention? Purpose? You should.

As you wake up in the morning and start thinking through all of your roles it’s important you think about what you NEED to have your #bestday. Hopefully, most days are straightforward and routine which is in itself a lifehack. Other days you need to prepare for deviation from the routine, which may include interacting with strangers, having a confrontational conversation, or just first time experiences. The important part is that you have the discipline to prepare and think about what you need to have your #bestday, and then make it happen.

I mentioned roles; do you think about all of the roles you play? If you don’t, they may grow stagnant, underperform, and instead contribute to having the #worstday, everyday.

Here are some roles I play:

Corporate Leader: My day job. Note, I do not say "employee" or "worker" or anything like that - the idea is to assign labels that also point to an objective. My goal is to make C-suite. Not be an employee or junior manager. Each day I need to have a goal that drives me closer to this end state.

Entrepreneur: The side-hustles. The average millionaire has *FIVE* different sources of income. So it's OK to pursue more. The point is to be fault-tolerant in our revenue streams.

Matriarch: This is apex-motherhood. I don't want to just be a mom; I need to be an exceptional mom. A role model for other mothers. My son Isaac is on the Autism spectrum and I need to be his advocate and pursue with absolute exceptionalism.

Queen: I want to build a home to be proud of and I do not take my homemaker tasks lightly. I am the stewardess of the kingdom. From a home improvement project of some sort to doing the laundry.

Athlete: The physical fitness tasks. Preparing for a race, roller derby bout, learning new skills like archery, and in general finding new physical challenges. Overall I need to improve my strength, speed, and flexibility. Then the obvious, most difficult part - optimizing my diet.

Angel: A divine being. I need to feed my soul as well as my body. This can be yoga, meditation, Bible study, church, et cetera. This includes my role as a friend and daughter/sister/aunt.

Goddess: Last, but not least, a lover. Being his muse. Keeping the relationship exciting and healthy.

Each of these roles deserves a thoughtful approach and if done well the ending result is fulfilling because I know I planned it to be my #bestday.

When I am prepared for the routine day, I call that #lipstickready. That is feeling I get when I put lipstick on; it usually is the last thing I put on and it finishes the look making me feel ready. On the flipside if I have a non-routine day ahead of me it is more of a #warpaintready day - mentally prepared for what is ahead, expected and unexpected.

Being #lipstickready has been studied by MIT; to read more check out a Medium article by Dekera G. Rodriguez (@dekerag on Twitter), where she clearly outlines how routines free up your brainpower to make important decisions.

Getting #warpaintready is a bit different. This requires preparing for what you have control over and being ready for the unexpected. As the famous philosopher Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson on Twitter) said “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Are you going to be #warpaint ready for the punch in the mouth?

What is the one thing that can throw you off from being #lipstickready for your #bestday?

Do you have #warpaintready lifehacks?

Tell me about it in the comments below, or on twitter at @OfficialSBug

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