How you begin your morning often sets the tone and your attitude for the day. It can also derail or direct your focus. If you remain committed to good morning work habits, you most likely won’t fall prey to feeling unproductive and distracted at the end of the day or week.”
Below are a few important work habits to take note of:
- Arrive on time:
This may be obvious to most people—but some don’t realize that showing up late can not only leave a bad impression, but also throw off your entire day. Getting in on time or a little early helps your mindset for the day and helps promote a feeling of accomplishment.
- Eat a proper breakfast:
Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day to help you down the path of not only being more physically fit, but also to have the mental energy needed to tackle your workday.
- Organize your workspace:
Experts say that clearing off the desk and creating a neat workspace sets a tone for the rest of the day. It also helps to avoid confusion. Also, while most communications are through e-mails and texts, if your boss or co-worker stopped by looking for you and left a sticky note about a last-minute meeting occurring in ten minutes, and it’s sitting on a mound of mail or papers, you’re already behind.
- Organize your day:
The first hour of the work day is the best time to assess priorities and to focus on what you absolutely need to accomplish. Too many people get distracted first thing in the morning with unimportant activities such as diving right into their morass of e-mail, when there may be a whole host of more important issues that need dealing with. You can make a to-do list, or update the one you made the previous day, and try to stick to it. However, if your boss has an urgent need, then it’s okay to re-shuffle your priorities within reason.
- Take advantage of your cleared mind:
Many people feel that their brains function best in the morning, and that mornings are when they are most creative and productive. It is important to make the best use of your brainpower and plan ‘high brain’ activities in the morning.”
- Remind yourself of your core purpose at work:
As corny or as trite as this may sound, experts suggest that you take a moment each morning to remind yourself of your core purpose at work. Connecting to a sense of purpose is one of the most powerful motivations there is, and taking just a moment each day to reconnect to what truly matters in your job and what you are ultimately trying to achieve and for whom, can help you feel more motivated and help you focus on the areas of priority at work.