Creating an intentional routine for the start and end of your work day will help you to increase your performance and satisfaction at work. Entrepreneurs and business professionals alike can benefit from starting and ending their work day in a certain way.
Discover how successful people start and end their work day and see how putting these tips into practice boosts your productivity and results.
Making the most of the first 15 minutes
Prioritise your workload.
Avoid the temptation to start working your way through emails and other requests by focusing on what you want to get done today. Make a list of the tasks you wish to accomplish throughout that day and establish their order of importance. This way you’ll be able to focus your time and energy on the tasks that really matter.
Take a step back.
It’s important to take a moment to look at the bigger picture before you dive right into your to-do list. Take a few breaths and a couple of minutes to centre yourself and to remember what’s important.
Drink a glass of water.
While coffee is the go-to drink for many of us to get started in the morning, you should start with a glass of water first. If you’re hydrated, you will be more productive throughout your day. In fact, simply staying hydrated has been shown to increase productivity by 14%.
Talk to your team.
First thing in the morning is a good time to touch base with your team and share a positive word to help everyone feel good and motivated. Don’t get caught up chatting for too long though.
Tackle your biggest challenges first.
If you have a tough assignment to complete today, or something important that you aren’t looking forward to it’s better to get them out of the way first. When you’re feeling fresh and motivated in the morning, you’ll be able to focus better on harder tasks. Don’t put them off until the afternoon.
Making the most of the last 15 minutes
Wrap up the little tasks.
The end of the day is never a good time to start a new project. Instead, you should focus on smaller tasks like sending quick emails and admin.
Tidy your desk.
Tidying your desk and giving your monitor a wipe down at the end of the day will help you to have a fresh start in the morning.
Do a brain dump.
If there’s anything on your mind, ideas or tasks, you should write them down on a bit of paper or in your diary before you leave. You don’t want to be leaving the office with your head filled with tomorrow’s to-do list. This way you’re less likely to forget things too.
Check in with yourself.
Take a minute to think about your highs and lows of the day. What have you achieved? If you haven’t accomplished everything you wanted to, don’t beat yourself up about it.
Switch off.
It’s time to go home and ideally you should leave your emails and messages at work. It’s time to switch off, relax and enjoy your downtime.