Because I’ve already made the statement that I’ll work harder than the next guy, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to change the way I work on a daily basis. I’ve also been reading several books about the habits or obsessions of highly effective and successful people. One of the key attributes that these folks possess, is the ability to stick with a routine. I’ve decided that “Work Early Sleep Early”, will be the way I run my day.One of the biggest obstacles that I need to overcome, is the desire to do non-work related things, while at home. Working from home can be tough, especially when other people in your household are there to interact with. Luckily for me, my office is in a secluded area of the house, so I don’t get a lot of foot traffic and the noise is kept to a minimum.
Here are a few of the things that I’m doing to kick my day off right:
- Rise and Shine by 5:45 am every day
- Listen to my morning brief with Alexa while opening up my email
- Start the coffee
- Shower by 7 am
- Always wear shoes. When wearing sandals it feels too much like being on vacation
- Eat a normal lunch
- Find time before 6 pm to get at least 45 minutes of working out in, at least 4 days a week.
- Make sure my to-do list is up to date and ready for the next day
- Shut the door to the office when I leave for the day.
That’s really about it. My favorite part is shutting the door at the end of the day. There will always be tomorrow to work on what wasn’t accomplished today. Sometimes it’s not always about working harder, but working smarter. Also, treating my home office, like an office allows me to be more productive. I purposely didn’t set myself up to look out at the yard and watch the birds and squirrels play all day. Nope, I can watch the trees, so it’s not a depressing view, but it certainly doesn’t let my mind wander.
We shall see how successful this arrangement is.