The way your morning starts tends to affect the entire working day. We can get so engrossed in rushing about, getting ourselves and the kids ready for work and school respectively, before rushing to our desk and trying to get our mind on the ‘to do’ list in front of us…
Stop! You need to give yourself time to get into the right mind-set for working – and this is why you need to establish a good morning routine to use, before you start work for the day. Follow these mind-set, focus and action tips to establish an efficient and effective way of getting your head in the right place – before you start work!
Tip #1: Mindset – Take time to centre.
Give yourself a 5-minute breathing space before starting work, to leave the morning trauma, school run, arguments etc. behind. Take a couple of deep, slow breaths and centre yourself.
Tip #2: Mindset – Set the intent for a good day.
Once you’ve got centred, set the intention to have a good, productive day. If you want to, visualise yourself being productive, positive and actually doing and clearing your workload.
Tip #3: Focus – Get clear on today’s tasks and prioritise them.
Next, go through your task list and prioritise the items on it. Put the tasks in the order they need to be in, in terms of importance.
Tip #4: Focus – What’s important for you?.
What tasks are important to you? These are those things that you want to achieve, in order to move yourself and/or your business forward, but that aren’t necessarily high on your task list. What 1 or 2 things MUST you achieve today, in order to feel as though you’ve had a successful, productive day? Add them to your list for today, to ensure they get completed too.
Tip #5: Action – Turn off distractions.
Before you start work, make sure to turn off all distractions. If you give yourself the time and space to focus solely on the tasks at hand, you’ll be able to achieve so much more – so turn off all auditory and visual notifications, switch off that mobile and shut down all unnecessary internet tabs!
Tip #6: Action – Time chunk.
Now you have your list of prioritised tasks, have switched off all distractions and got your head in the game, it’s time to get down to work. You’ll find more gets achieved and you’ll work more efficiently, if you set yourself set time chunks. A good pattern is 20 to 45 minutes of focused work, followed by a 5 to 15-minute break. You can then repeat this pattern, for your entire working day or until you’ve finished your task list – so set your timer and get going!
By starting your day right, you’ll ensure you’re more positive at the start of your day, are motivated throughout your working time and ultimately, end the day satisfied with what you’ve achieved.
What morning strategy do you follow, to ensure you have a productive day? Why not share your tips and hints for a great working day, in the comments box below!