The way your morning goes can have a real impact on your day—and your productivity. These five simple habits will kick start your day:
1. Put things in their place.
What’s the saying? “Clean house, clean mind”? Your desk is no different. Make yourself a clean, ergonomic, cheerful environment to spend your days and set yourself up to do your best work. A few minimalist changes I’ve adopted this year:
- Spending a few minutes each day clearing off old paperwork
- Stowing office supplies I don’t use on the daily
- Getting a taller monitor stand so I don’t slouch
- Curating my photo display to a few choice family pics so that their faces stand out and catch my gaze more easily
2. Skip the snooze.
You’ll find article after article expounding the benefits of skipping the snooze button in the morning. And reluctantly, this post is no different. This has been the hardest part for me; I know going back to sleep resets your sleep cycle, making the morning that much more irksome. However, I love the feeling of waking up, looking at my clock, and getting a momentary sense of glee: I don’t have to get up for ten more minutes! When my real alarm goes off, the sourness of having to be awake is only mitigated by another 30 minutes of a comedic podcast. On the mornings when I get up the first time, not only am I ultimately happier, I actually believe I think better. Take it from me, a die-hard sleep fanatic, the snooze is just not worth a place in your routine.
3. Map out your day.
Whether you like writing out your to-do lists the night before, first thing in the morning, or are in favor of more constant tools like Trello, it’s a good idea to have a game plan to focus your energy. Lacking an approach to managing your tasks? We’ve got an overview of a few of the more common types of task management tools to get you started.
4. Avoid morning interruptions.
Research suggests it can take more than 20 minutes to get back into a task after an interruption. Arrange with your receptionist (or Ruby if you’re a current client) to take messages during the first few hours of the day so you can harness that time for projects. For a top-notch customer experience, inform callers when they can expect return calls.
5. Don’t delay the important stuff.
Many people like to check email first thing in the morning. But once you start, it’s hard to stop! Before you know it, it’s lunchtime and it feels like you haven’t crossed one thing off your list. Instead, use your morning to begin your biggest projects (Stephen Covey calls these “big rocks”), especially if they require creativity. You’ll gain a sense of accomplishment and responding to emails will feel like a breeze. (And for folks like me who just can’t resist a quick peek…at least set aside the non-urgent emails till later in the day after your big-brain tasks are complete.)
What are your tricks to shaking off the morning slump? Share your secret below!
Image Credit: Alex via Flickr Creative Commons License
