Hello there! I’m Alisha M. Pennington, a enterprise mentor, and guide, with 10+ years of entrepreneur expertise. I began my first enterprise, a staffing company, in 2012, scaling it to $1 million inside 4 years and now do $3 million+ yearly.
In 2016, I began my very own podcast educating on the intersection of sports activities drugs & enterprise (her area of interest experience) after which started offering mentorship for these wanting to begin and scale their very own enterprise.
After a number of years of casual mentorship, my husband and I made a decision to formally pursue enterprise consulting as a proper enterprise and Pennington Perspective was born. Shortly after, we had our daughter, Tatum, which utterly modified how we approached life and enterprise. She turned the precedence and so we shifted all our work to incorporate her and we turned entrepreneurs + mother and father.
I invite you to observe me on Instagram and be a part of our weekly e mail sequence Clarity Is Confidence, which helps the overwhelmed enterprise proprietor establish the following steps in enterprise with easy, but foundational methods.
What time do you get up within the morning, and the way do you get up?
Most days, I naturally get up with the solar, which now that it’s spring time, is round 6:30a (in winter it may be as late as 7:30a). My daughter’s child monitor is on my cellphone, so on uncommon events she wakes up earlier than me and her babbling will wake me.
How do you want your espresso (in the event you drink it)?
I don’t drink espresso anymore (since being pregnant), however I nonetheless love a heat cup of one thing within the morning. So now I make myself a London Fog, which is an Earl Gray Tea Latte, made at residence with steamed almond milk + splash of vanilla creamer. And I add collagen every morning as effectively.
What’s in your bedside desk?
On my bedside desk, I’ve my cellphone & watch charging. Moreover, I’ve the “Tremendous Attractor” affirmations deck from Gabby Bernstein (which I sometimes pull from every morning or evening), and not too long ago added the @omnilux face masks that I additionally put on both day or evening relying on the stream of my day.
Do you put together on your mornings the evening earlier than? If that’s the case, how?
I don’t actually do something the evening earlier than to organize for mornings, apart from taking myself to sleep at an inexpensive hour (which is 9p-10p). Waking up every morning, chargeable for a toddler, can require numerous vitality, so I make sure that I don’t keep up late and make myself crabby.
What are your skincare/physique care rituals?
I don’t do a lot with my pores and skin within the mornings, aside from sunscreen + Vit. C (I don’t at all times bear in mind each!). At evening, I wash my face, use a toner, apply retinol, and a moisturizer.
If I’m utilizing my omnilux masks, I’ll do this therapy earlier than any ointments. I don’t put on a lot make-up anymore, typically simply an underage brightener and a few powder to even out my pores and skin tone. In any other case, its au pure + Lashify.
What does your morning routine stream appear to be?
As soon as I wake, I verify to see if Tatum is up but. If not, I’ll shut my eyes and both do some gratitude apply or pull a Tremendous Attractor card and meditate on it’s phrases. If Tatum is up, I’ll rise up and get myself totally prepared (brush enamel, apply face ointments, dress, placed on wedding ceremony ring + watch).
Then I’m going into her room, she normally greets me with a excessive pitched “MOMMY!” after which proceeds to inform me about every of her stuffed animals (similar factor, each morning, lol). She stays within the crib whereas I seize her vitamin, a brand new diaper, and select her garments for the day.
Relying on her temper, I both costume her utterly within the crib or she comes out and wanders round her room whereas I chase after her with pants and shirt in hand (we’re fairly the positioning!). She then goes to the toilet the place she “climbs tower” to brush her enamel and get her hair completed.
After finishing each of these, we head downstairs to have “toast” earlier than she will get dropped off at one in every of our mothers’ home.
I get her toast began, and likewise get the water boiling for my tea on the similar time. In her independence, she needs to unfold the butter and reduce her bread, so its a continuing battle of letting her do issues and discovering methods to be protected.
As soon as she is consuming, I full my tea latte (which she helps stir + add the cinnamon atop), then we head out the door. Tatum goes to every of our mothers’ home 2x/week, so we have now care 4 days every week, which is extremely useful for us. After she will get dropped off, I both head to Pilates (2x/wk) for 50 minutes or I come residence and get straight to work.
When do you kick off your workday? And do you may have any starting-work rituals?
Every day I begin my work by addressing excellent emails (deleting or marking as unread, as wanted), then go to my calendar to see what’s scheduled for the day, then straight to my OneNote to see what I must get achieved this week/month/quarter.
I’m fairly strict about writing a brand new be aware each Monday, so all through the week I don’t must spend brainpower eager about “what do I must do?” It’s all listed proper in entrance of me.
I normally deal with the toughest/greatest initiatives first after which work down from there. I additionally sync my work productiveness with the place I’m at in my menstrual cycle to make sure I’m specializing in duties that greatest swimsuit the stage my mind is most adept to.
How does your morning routine change on the weekends?
The morning routine appears to be like fairly comparable on weekends. On Saturdays we take Tatum to gymnastics, so we would not be proper out the door after toast, however we do head out inside about an hour or so.
On Sundays, we normally have nowhere to be, however I prefer to get out and play/stroll within the mornings, so we’re normally out the door headed to a park or farmers market. We attempt to preserve the routine very constant for her so she is aware of what to anticipate in her days, regardless of what we have now occurring in our lives.
What does your mindset appear to be at the start of the day?
Most mornings I’ve a reasonably optimistic and constructive mindset. I imagine that is due to some causes: I prioritize sleep, so I don’t get up drained or grouchy most days; I’m naturally a morning individual, with most of my vitality and focus being within the first half of the day; I’m able to do a gratitude apply or meditation to begin my day pretty typically; I take pleasure in waking up and being with my daughter (even when she’s grumpy or troublesome, I nonetheless actually take pleasure in having that point along with her).
What’s non-negotiable vs. what does an extra-luxurious morning appear to be?
My main non-negotiable is getting myself prepared earlier than getting Tatum up. Giving myself the 10-Quarter-hour I would like in an effort to really feel prepared for the day creates house for me to point out up for her and for different folks as wanted.
And an extra-luxurious morning is when Tatum sleeps in later than anticipated and I get an elongated morning to myself. If I can meditate, and drink my tea, and possibly even reply just a few emails earlier than she wakes up.
What would you want to enhance along with your mornings?
If I improved my mornings, it could embrace some intuitive motion previous to getting Tatum. Maybe just a few solar salutations, mixed with deep respiration, and stretching my physique because it needs.
What’s your #1 suggestion to others who wrestle with mornings?
Mornings have at all times been a favourite time for me as a result of I’ve one thing to sit up for. Maybe figuring out one thing to sit up for while you get up might make mornings simpler, as easy or profound as it might be.