Design the Work Day You Love
Heads up, guys….this is not another holier-than-thou lesson on morning routines. Or Ten Tips to Start Your Day Right! Or Why I’m Winning the Day and You Suck, or….you get the idea. Sometimes a minor shift can help you get back on track during your work day.
Picture yourself opening that laptop in the morning and knowing, just knowing you’re going to kick today in the teeth! A little aggressive? Maybe? But sometimes you need to pump yourself up. Imagine that you wake up excited to get started on your work day. Excited! You know exactly what you will be working on. There’s no guessing or fumbling around for a random list on your desk thinking, “I know it’s here somewhere.” Then an email notification pops up, your dog needs to go for a walk and you forgot whether you’ve brushed your teeth or not. I kid. You know you haven’t because your breath is rancid. Go brush your teeth. I digress.
This isn’t a message from your mama.
The start of your day might look like this: you swagger towards your laptop feeling ready to get a lot accomplished. You’re focused with minimal distractions waiting for you. You may not notice, but your shoulders are squared and your chin rests just a smidge higher than usual. You’ve got this. Today, you’re accomplished, efficient and a task-completing machine.
I can’t tell you exactly what your best work day will look like, because I don’t know what you do. (You’re welcome to tell me though! Comment below. I wanna know.) But what I can say is that you’ll feel damn good.
I’ve got some real life tips to get your workday on track, y’all. And they do not, I repeat, DO NOT, involve tips from motivational speakers. I love (some of) them, but we’ve got to put these real life, no- need-to-take-a-course tips to work. Here we go.
Pre-game Prep
- List your top 3 priorities that you WILL accomplish the next day You have no room to get distracted looking for a list or jumping online to fill the time or even going through your email, which will land you in a heap of confusion. That’s all nonsense that will leave you stressed and frankly unaccomplished and maybe feeling like a failure. I don’t want to feel like that and I sure as heck don’t want you feeling like you’ve wasted your day away.
- Task 1 will move you forward in a long term goal (i.e. Project: Launch Website March 1st. Today’s task: Write “About Us” page content and publish)
- Task 2 is a task that will move you forward in a short term goal (i.e. update the email subscriber list for Thursday newsletter)
- Task 3 might be a daily maintenance item that you can’t put off like (for ultra-efficiency, you might consider outsourcing this task in the future. i.e. customer service responses, Facebook group engagement, etc. )
2. Drink water
Get that bottle filled up and keep it with you like a baby with her blankie. Drink afore mentioned water. A study published in PubMed reflected a correlation with mild dehydration and cognitive performance.*1 A lack of hydration may contribute to low energy and trouble focusing for certain age groups. I’m sure you know the deal by now.
3. Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique *2 is a fancy shmancy way of saying work for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. After doing this 3-4 times, extend that break to 15-30 minutes. Your productivity and happiness will increase. You’re welcome. This, by far, is the biggest game-changer on the list.
4. Level up your mood
Feeling like a fraud, afraid of making that sales call or you just plain have low energy? Take control of your mood by taking physical steps to bring your energy level up a notch. Here are some ideas that work for me, however you need to mentally file away the tips that help you and pull them out when needed.
- Go for a walk
- Dance break (yep)
- Exercise
- Listen to high-energy music
- Journal
- Deep breathing
- Bounce up and down in place (double yep, preferably with a puppy)
- Give yourself a pep talk (don’t act like you don’t talk to yourself)
5. Outsource
Okay, I might be biased here as I’m a service provider for online entrepreneurs allowing them to take the preverbial load off, while I manage their marketing tasks. Sounds like a far away dream, but it isn’t! Growing your team is a cost-effective and scalable way to turbo boost your productivity. Bringing on a virtual team member is a great way to have access to executive-level expertise at a fraction of the cost. If outsourcing was a prescription the fine print on the bottle would read “Will increase profits and bring you loads of happiness.” Outsourcing can help you save time and money by allowing you to focus on growing your business. Making you feel like you’re making big moves in your business, rather than focusing on the minutia.
I hope this list helps you smile more throughout your day! Comment below what other tips and tricks you use to bring more joy to your work day.
