10 Secrets to Start a More Productive Work Day
1. Limit your work-starting routine to 15 minutesDon’t
spend more than 15 minutes getting coffee, settling in, looking at
newspapers or reading emails. You are often at your freshest and most
productive at the beginning of the day. A prolonged morning routine
takes the positive edge off and makes your afternoon more stressful.
Better to jump into the important work quickly and read the
non-essential emails after you’ve covered lots of ground.
2. Write two to-do listsThe
first should contain everything you need to get done soon. It should be
a comprehensive list of short, medium and long-term projects and work,
and you should constantly adjust it. The second to-do list should be
what you can reasonably expect to get done today, and today only. Be
fair to yourself. Factor in the likely disruptions, meetings, phone
calls and travel hassles. Make the tasks as specific as possible and
assign the amount of time you plan to devote to it. Print the list out
on brightly coloured paper; this keeps it from getting lost on your
desk. By prioritizing your work and breaking it down into small,
achievable pieces, you greatly increase the chances that you will be
satisfied with your day’s accomplishments.
3. Take a few moments to assess the day’s emotional challenges Almost
as important as your to-do list is a ‘be-prepared-for’ list. Make an
inventory of tough phone calls, boring meetings, challenging customers,
frustrating red tape, infuriating rush-hour commutes, droning detail
work and other mental challenges you are likely to face. Then accept
that they are inevitable and prepare yourself to get through them
without anger, frustration or impatience. Remember: it’s usually not
work that gets us down, but rather the challenges that lie along the
periphery of the job.
4. Schedule some social time for mid-morningYou
probably work with people whom you like and know well. In fact,
camaraderie is what makes many jobs great. So build a ritual into each
morning in which you spend a few moments of social time with colleagues.
Make it short, at an appropriate time, and don’t let the day go by
without it. But avoid personal phone calls if you can; they can
unexpectedly turn into big time-eaters.
5. Schedule in some reading timeThere’s
no job that doesn’t require at least some reading, be it about the
company, the industry, the marketplace, the economy. Create a ritual
that gives you 15 minutes or so to review newspapers, electronic
newsletters, industry magazines, company memos and other reading. Be
disciplined – this is not the time to do online shopping. You’ll find
that being up-to-date with your business has many advantages, just one
of them being a sense of control about your own situation.
6. Make sure you have the right equipment for a healthy day in the officeIf you're deskbound, that means:
- Headphones for the telephone, so that you're not leaning your neck to one side when you talk on the phone.
-
An antiglare filter on your computer screen. One study found filters
improved the quality of the screen image and significantly reduced the
percentage of people suffering from tired, dry, itchy or watery eyes,
fatigue and headaches.
- A wrist-rest for your computer so that
you can keep your wrists elevated, thus avoiding pressure on the nerves
that go through your wrist, which can cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
If
you're in sales or customer service, you're likely to be on your feet
for much of the day. Comfortable, supportive shoes are just a start.
Good socks and underwear, a steady supply of breath mints, and braces or
some other support for your back, knees or any other problematic joints
are also important.
Finally, establish a safe place to keep your
keys, mobile phone and other bits and pieces. Full pockets can affect
your posture and movement.
7. Set your watch or computer alarm to go off (quietly) every hourSet
a quiet alarm on your watch or computer to go off every hour. This will
be your signal throughout the day to take a break, get up and stretch,
walk around the building, etc. But, in an open-plan office, for
instance, keep volume low so that it doesn’t upset your colleagues.
8. Start your day with a cup of hot cocoaResearch
shows that one cup of pure cocoa a day for five days can increase blood
flow in the brain, hands and legs, as well as helping to regulate blood
pressure. Choose pure coca over drinking milk chocolate to get the full
effect.
9. Keep fresh flowers or plants at workOne
US study found that live plants increased creative thinking. Keep them
within sight, never your computer. Other studies find that plants
significantly lower workplace stress and enhance productivity - possibly
because they release extra oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the
air during photosynthesis.
10. Block off 30 minutes on your calendar at the end of the dayIt
may seem strange to do this at the start of your day, but this will be
your time to begin the transition from work to home. During this last
half hour of your working day, you can finish answering any emails,
update your to-do list for the next day and tidy up your desk.
