The first fifteen minutes of your morning can have a major impact on the rest of your day. Similarly, the last fifteen minutes of your day can affect your performance the next morning. By following these 9 helpful tips, you can ensure that you complete your to-do list with an ambitious attitude and finish your day satisfied and relieved that you accomplished all your goals.

START

Arrive on time

This may seem self-explanatory, but there’s nothing worse than beginning your day being flustered due to being late. You know how much time you need to get ready in the morning, so plan accordingly. Allow yourself some wiggle room for traffic or any other unexpected hiccups in your commute. By doing this you will get to work feeling refreshed, confident, and ready to tackle the day.

Give yourself a few minutes to settle in

Don’t dive headfirst into your tasks. Take a couple of minutes to put yourself in your working mindset and mentally prepare yourself for what the next eight or so hours have in store. This will help you clear your mind and aid you to focus on what you need to accomplish for the day. Make sure you start each day with a clean slate. Don’t carry problems or dwell on unfinished projects. Instead, treat those issues as independent errands that are meant to be taken care of that day.

Make a to-do list

Organize your responsibilities and lay them out in a way that you can clearly see what you need to finish by the end of the workday. Visualize those tasks and identify how much time you’ll need to complete them so you can efficiently plan out a realistic schedule. By hand writing or typing what you need to do, you can increase your focus and decrease distractions. In addition, you won’t be blindsided or overwhelmed by assignments you didn’t realize you had to complete.

Start with the hardest task first

Don’t begin your day with busywork. You may find yourself in a time crunch because you devoted the majority of your time to duties you could’ve easily and quickly done after your most important task. You are most productive earlier on in the day (when you’re not digesting your lunch or drained from hours of work). With that being said, finish your biggest responsibility as soon as possible, then worry about the little tasks.

END

Wrap up your projects

Finish what you had set out to do – and nothing more! Don’t begin a new project when there’s fifteen minutes left before you leave. This isn’t efficient and you won’t succeed with having another task hanging over your head when you go home

.Organize your desk

Keep your workplace tidy! Too much clutter will negatively impact your productivity. You also don’t want to walk in to work the next morning to piles of papers, pens, and takeout containers. By taking care of this before you go, you’ll be able to start the next day with a clear desk and a clear mind.

Reflect

Think of the high and low points of your day. How can you can repeat those positive moments and learn from you negative ones. Mentally check off what you completed in day’s work and allow yourself a few minutes to be proud of what you accomplished.

Write tomorrow’s to-do list

By knocking this out of the way, you’ll have a clear understanding of what you need to do the next day. Instead of having these responsibilities overwhelming your thoughts, you’ll be more relaxed because you have a solid management and organization of your tasks.

Turn off

Don’t bring your work home with you. Respect your work-life balance. Sign out of your email, leave your papers in your desk, and step away from your duties. You’ll have plenty of time to resume them the following morning. Remind yourself, it doesn’t hurt to devote the rest of your night to some much-needed “me time”.

Start your day on the right foot. Be on time, settle in, and organize your thoughts and tasks before jumping into your workday. These tips will help ease you into your day but, also keep you on track and prepared to tackle anything that is thrown your way. Ending your day the right way is just as important. Wrap up your final thoughts and projects, organize your work space, compile a list of to-dos for tomorrow, and of course mentally “log off”. Take these tips and use them and you’ll see your performance and satisfaction increase!

 

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