We rush from one task to the next and before we know it, it’s the end of the day and what have we actually achieved? This post highlights 5 small habits that we’ve adopted to become more productive in our working day.
Get up and Get Dressed!
Since we started Boatman Admin Services, we’ve never worked from our PJ’s. It’s so important to feel like you are actually ‘at work’ and getting dressed is part of this. OK, your customers and clients might not actually see that you’ve made an effort to wash your hair and put some proper clothes on but you’ll feel a difference in your productivity.
Write a List
We’re a big believer of a to do list. We agree that they can be daunting when you take everything from your busy brain and put them down on paper or into a task management tool such as Trello. We suggest highlighting just one or two things that you MUST do that day and focus on those first. anything else you get done is a bonus. It also acts as a tool to see what you could outsource to a Virtual Assistant. Is there anything more satisfying than seeing those tasks getting completed?!
Take a Break
We can’t stress how important this is. If you are able, take 30 minutes (ideally an hour) to step away from your desk or workstation at lunchtime. Get away from the screen and step outside in the fresh air – having a dog definitely helps with this one. Ensure that you’ve had some nourishing food as well.
Review that list
A task that gets done at the end of every day is to look at your list and decide what needs to be done tomorrow. That way when you get to your desk you know exactly what needs to be done first rather than spending the first hour or so jumping from one thing to the next.
This also allows you to look at what you’ve achieved that day as well and feel a sense of accomplishment.
Set a finish time
There’s no medal for working a 15 hour day everyday. Set yourself a hard stop time every day. This might be by the clock (ie 5pm or when the kids need collecting from school) or simply once your MUST do tasks of the day are done. We often change ours around depending on work flow. If everything is done and dusted by 3pm, we’ll close our computers down and take ourselves to our favourite coffee shop for a midweek treat. Of course, our mobiles are to hand so we can keep an eye on anything urgent. You’ll be surprised how good it feels to have a couple of hours ‘off’ every now and again.
What daily habits do you have to ensure you have a great day?!
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