It's over 100° F (40° C) every day so taking the dog for a walk or simply opening the door in the middle of the afternoon is a struggle. 

So getting up earlier is a necessity because my personal exercise preference is running.

I get a lot of "thinking" work done while I run and it helps clear my mind before the workday starts.

And going running late is a death sentence because of the intense heat. I tried doing a few miles at 9 am the other day and that was already too hot. I almost got heat stroke on the way home.

So because it helps me set everything up for the rest of the day I simply have to wake up earlier. Making it the first thing I do makes the rest of the workday so much more productive.

It's kind of like making EQ the first thing you do when you start mixing a track.

Making everything fit together via EQ will make the rest of the mixing process easier because you're not dealing with instruments masking each other, unnecessary low-end or other frequency problems that'll clutter up your arrangement.

Putting EQ first sets up the rest of your session for success, just like my morning jog helps me get through the work day.

And speaking of EQ, my buddies over at The Pro Audio Files came out with some cool video training on EQ, called simply "Mixing With EQ."

If getting a headstart on your session with EQ is a struggle for you these days, have a look at Mixing With EQ and let Matthew Weiss show you how to separate your instruments and get your mix cleaned up and clutter-free.