After Your Morning Coffee
We all have morning routines…or something close to a routine. For a lot of us it starts with coffee (or tea…I don’t discriminate). There are multiple memes about coffee or quotes like “nothing happens before coffee”, etc. You get the idea. But what happens after YOUR morning coffee? Do you jump into your routine as usual, do you wing it, do you figure it out as you go, or do you crash into a wall, not knowing where to begin?
If you’re an entrepreneur who works from home or from an office, it can be challenging at times to stay within a somewhat structured day. It’s too easy to put other things first, like running to the store or doing quick errands. When you worked in corporate or “for the man”, you didn’t stop in the middle of the day to cook dinner or catch up on your favorite show (mostly). Treat your business like a business. Focus on the needs of your business during your designated work time.
Whether you have a routine (recommended) or if things are a little loose, it’s time to take control of your day. Typically, how we start our day is reflects how we continue and complete our day. Consider firming up your routine. If you start slowly and get distracted, its likely that you will continue like that for the duration of the day.
1. Limit Distractions. First of all, remove distractions…yes, the cell phone too. Whether it’s a phone call or us scrolling through social media, the phone can be distracting, taking us away from the tasks at hand. Try to silence the phone and save a designated time to return calls. Distractions can include people, television (for those working at home), and even music. Music while you work is great, but don’t allow it to distract you and make you think you’re performing a concert instead of focusing on your work. Try to find music with out lyrics if that distracts you.
2. Use a Task List. Working from a task list or a list of assignments in your project management software is helpful in keeping you focused. Having a plan and knowing what you need to accomplish helps you get to work quicker. Additionally, time blocking or scheduling tasks in blocks of time will help structure your day and keep you on track. When you know you have a certain amount of time to complete a task, you tend to make every effort to meet the deadline.
3.Take Short Breaks. Take SHORT breaks during the workday to refresh. This keeps you from burning out on a project and becoming irritable. Fresh air breaks are great, and taking a short walk if possible is even better. Allow yourself time to regroup, refocus and get back to work. Try to schedule the breaks (with an identifiable end time) so that you don’t waste time. And remember to schedule time in for lunch.
4. Design Your Workspace to Meet Your Needs. Make sure your workspace meets your needs and is reflective of you and how you work. Keeping the necessary tools nearby keeps you from having to keep getting up and getting distracted by other things in your way. This may include making sure you have water, etc. to stay hydrated or snacks if that’s your thing. There are times that I forget something and on my way to get it, I end up doing a load of laundry or checking the mail, or getting pulled in to conversation. So it’s important to everything I need before I sit down to work.
Staying focused and on task is critical to being productive in your business. For most of us, meeting deadlines is critical to the advancement of our business. Making progress, no matter how little, is great motivation to keep moving. Take a look at your daily routine…what happens After Your Morning Coffee? Do you have room to elevate your game?
