HOW TO WORK IN THE MORNING
Let's face it, every morning millions of us have to do the same thing, work. Using your morning routine to extend into your work day will not only keep you on top of your game, but also make sure that you are building better habits to help with your productivity and ultimately career.
1. Start with the night before
The best way to leave work is with your morning in mind. The old adage of the best morning starts with the night before has never been truer than with your career. Before signing off for the day, make sure you’ve opened every email and correspondence, filing the unneeded and marking those actionable. Once this is cleared, take ten minutes to do a sense check on all your current projects and activities and note down the tasks for the next day (we use notebooks but there are plenty of apps out there if you want something a little digital). From your list of tasks, to a quick scan and pick the three most important that have 100% need completing the next day. Tidy up your space, grab anything that will help you with your tasks and put them front and centre on your desk so the next morning you’re all set up and ready to go.
The best way to leave work is with your morning in mind. The old adage of the best morning starts with the night before has never been truer than with your career. Before signing off for the day, make sure you’ve opened every email and correspondence, filing the unneeded and marking those actionable. Once this is cleared, take ten minutes to do a sense check on all your current projects and activities and note down the tasks for the next day (we use notebooks but there are plenty of apps out there if you want something a little digital). From your list of tasks, to a quick scan and pick the three most important that have 100% need completing the next day. Tidy up your space, grab anything that will help you with your tasks and put them front and centre on your desk so the next morning you’re all set up and ready to go.
2. Hit your emails, with a plan
Especially on a Monday, or a ‘day’ when you work globally, your emails can be the biggest distractor. With things tricking in over the weekend and overnight, opening your emails is usually the first thing everyone does. Whilst this feels productive – you have to add a process in before your emails overtake you.
An email can throw you off, we’ve all been there. A chain that’s escalated or a request that came at the last minute that’s now been sitting dormant for 15 hours, you can sometimes receive something and feel completely sidetracked and you’ve lost the whole morning!
That’s why you need an email process. Starting from the earliest received (the lowest in your inbox) set a timer for 10 minutes and work your way up, marking important, filing unnecessary and noting actions to be taken. Once the timer is finished, you should have opened and assessed each email. Now leave your inbox.
Especially on a Monday, or a ‘day’ when you work globally, your emails can be the biggest distractor. With things tricking in over the weekend and overnight, opening your emails is usually the first thing everyone does. Whilst this feels productive – you have to add a process in before your emails overtake you.
An email can throw you off, we’ve all been there. A chain that’s escalated or a request that came at the last minute that’s now been sitting dormant for 15 hours, you can sometimes receive something and feel completely sidetracked and you’ve lost the whole morning!
That’s why you need an email process. Starting from the earliest received (the lowest in your inbox) set a timer for 10 minutes and work your way up, marking important, filing unnecessary and noting actions to be taken. Once the timer is finished, you should have opened and assessed each email. Now leave your inbox.
3. Get your first task sorted
So you’ve done your email admin, chances are your ten minute inbox audit has given you a few more tasks to add to your list. Take another ten minutes to adjust your to-do list (and priorities) accordingly before you get stuck in. Make sure to add in any task, and we mean any task. Replying to an email, setting up a call, every single step of every piece of every project counts.
So you’ve done your email admin, chances are your ten minute inbox audit has given you a few more tasks to add to your list. Take another ten minutes to adjust your to-do list (and priorities) accordingly before you get stuck in. Make sure to add in any task, and we mean any task. Replying to an email, setting up a call, every single step of every piece of every project counts.
4. Complete your most impactful action
There are lots of pieces of advice around ‘eating the frog’. About how if you do your hardest task first, you’ll set yourself up for success throughout the day. We tend to disagree though. The hardest doesn’t always mean the best (it just means that hardest), and you should focus on completing the task that is going to be most impactful (even if it’s the easiest).
There are lots of pieces of advice around ‘eating the frog’. About how if you do your hardest task first, you’ll set yourself up for success throughout the day. We tend to disagree though. The hardest doesn’t always mean the best (it just means that hardest), and you should focus on completing the task that is going to be most impactful (even if it’s the easiest).
