1. Plan it!
When planning don't plan it all, plan for about 60 % of the day to account for any eventualities that arise. Establish what you will focus on at the start of each day. It is a good idea to aim for about 3 main tasks rather than trying to do it all.
2. Use reward systems
What are you going to set up to reward yourself as an incentive? This helps when you are working in a team too to get things done. It is helpful to have healthy reward systems such as going out for a walk so that you feel more focused when you start back. Watch out for too much sugar or coffee as a reward as that can have the opposite effect to making the rest of your day run smoothly when you have a 'crash'!
3. Know your optimum concentration period
Do you know there has been studies to suggest that the optimum concentration is in 90 min segments? If you think about how you work best what time segments work for you so that your concentration is at it's best?
4. Vary it
Variety is the spice of your working day. Vary what you do across the day, if you have meetings to go to, don't put them too close together or client appointments back to back, break it up a little. This is especially true if working from home or in the virtual world. Work out ways that you can do this which could be mixing it up a little so you avoid being on zoom all day, for example!
5. Evaluate what works
Often with all the internet advice being piped at us constantly it can feel, sometimes like bad background music, that having a more skillfull approach to the day means we have to do something completely different to usual.
This is not necessarily true. One way to make your day smoother is to evaluate what is working and do more of that. If you have a look at your diary and work out your best week, when you met your deadlines, you were totally prioritising, you had a good work life balance etc.. check what was going on? There is your answer! Do more of this.
6. Use your body as a barometer
Check how you feel during and after the day.
Stuck at your desk?
Shoulders up round your ears?
Know that feeling?
Your body is telling you to take a break, go have some lunch, move around! Listen to it.
7. Ask for support
One of the best ways to reduce the stress in your life and have a smoother day is to be clear about support that you would like to have from others. Delegate when you can. Be assertive with yourself and with others to avoid back to back meetings. Even when we are alone in our office space there are often other people who can give us that all important support if we reach out and ask for it.
8. Leave on time
Set yourself a realistic time frame and stick to it. This includes 'leaving' the virtual world if you are working from home. If you want your day to be smooth it is about being kind to yourself about what you can achieve. We all have days when we are naturally more productive than others. Leave on time so you can get down time and feel good about the next day. If in a position of leadership this also helps to set a good example for a healthy productive team.
Drop drop me a line on sarah.mariposacoaching@gmail.com with your interest.
I offer 1;1 coaching sessions, workshops and in house training which includes
strategies to improve your performance, leadership style and wellbeing.
I offer a free 20 mins phone consultation so don't hesitate to give me a call on 07811 740580.
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