How to Make the Most of Your Work Day

How to Make the Most of Your Work Day What exactly is it that allows certain people to be their most productive self at work? If the three cups of coffee you drink every morning is no longer doing the trick, then maybe you need to try a different approach. Below are some ways to help make sure you are getting the most out of your workday with a little less grief. Make your morning count Instead of checking your emails, and phone calls as soon as you wake up, try to refrain yourself from doing so right away. Going through those messages may seem like a constructive way to get a head start on the day, but in reality, it allows you to react to other’s agendas, rather than setting your own. Instead, framework your own priorities. Do so by putting aside one hour every morning to set your agenda. How you start the first hour of your day will determine how much you have accomplished by the last. With that being said, allocate that first hour planning out your objectives, fitting in a work out or meditation and finishing with a healthy breakfast. Not only will these efforts increase your focus, they’ll also provide you with the boost of energy you’ll need to get more done in less time. Dress the part The type of clothes you wear and how you accessorize can say a lot about who you are, where you’re from, what you do and how you feel about yourself, as well as others. In fact, dress scholars Mary Ellen Roach and Joanne Eicher, find that our attire is one of the main ways we send social signals because what we wear reveals our true identity. If you dress for success, chances are you will feel more effective and therefore be more productive. Believe it or not, color can play a huge roll in what we wear. For example, the color black signifies power and professionalism while yellows give off happiness and optimism. Based on the impression you’d like to portray, select colors that will embody these traits. Same goes with fit and styling. If you have a baggy suit, or dress pants on, theres a chance you won’t come off professional and as a result, won’t be taken as seriously as someone with a more tailored attire. You don’t need to break the bank to have nice clothes either. In fact, shopping your local thrift stores or browsing online consignment shops such as thredUP can benefit you in more ways than one. Not only will you be saving money, but you’ll be able to shop top brands such as Madewell at an affordable price and stock your closet with fashionable finds! Don’t put off daunting tasks It’s no secret that one of the hardest parts of working is simply getting started. Sure, it may sound like a good idea to perform your easy tasks first, however, the longer you put something off, the harder it is to dive in at your full potential. The more you put something off that you already don’t want to do, the less likely you are to do it later in the day as fatigue sets in. So, don’t put off your most daunting tasks. Do yourself a favor and complete them first. An upside to this will be that once you have completed your intimidating workload, you will have gained the necessary motivation to accomplish your smaller assignments, that will now seem like a breeze! Dismiss distractions Let’s face it, we all get distracted at least once throughout the day, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you fall victim to it. However, there are ways we can diminish these distractions by incorporating simple efforts into our everyday. First, try scheduling out your day. We all have certain times of the day where we are more productive, therefore schedule your most important work for these times to give yourself a greater advantage. Scheduling out your to-dos can help you to stay on task, whether its a meeting, or remembering to meet a deadline. As much as we’d like to think so, we dont multitask as well as we think we do. Therefore, when its time to get in the zone, try to block out any distractions on your screen if possible. Get rid of the extra icons, windows, notifications and other desktop clutter that you dont need. The fewer things you have open, the easier it will be to focus. If you work in an open office setting and people can be a distraction, consider wearing a good pair of headphones to block out the side conversations that may arise.