Mistakes You Might Be Making in the First Few Minutes of Your Workday
The first few minutes of your workday are critical to your productivity for the next eight hours. Showing up late to work can easily get you thrown off and you’ll have a hard time focusing for throughout the day. The morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. Therefore, it’s important to say no to everything but your essential priorities. Here are a few mistakes you should be avoiding within the first 10 minutes of your workday to set yourself up for success.
Showing up late to work.
A new study from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business found that despite working the same amount of time, a worker who starts the day earlier will come off as more conscientious, and consequently receive better performance reviews, than someone who starts later. Even if those employees who come in late leave later. So, it’s essential that you try to get to work as early as possible.
Forgetting to say hi to your coworkers.
Take a few minutes to catch up with your colleagues, it will set a pleasant tone for yourself and others around you. Whether you’re a leader or not, not saying “hi” to your team could show a lack of people skills. And make you appear less approachable to colleagues.
Drinking coffee too early in the morning.
It’s important to use caffeine effectively. People typically already have energy when they wake up and throwing more coffee on top of your energy won’t help. The best times to have caffeine are at 10am and 1pm, or after lunch. Otherwise, your body starts producing less cortisol (regulates energy), and depends more on caffeine.
Starting your day answering every single email.
According to Michael Kerr, an international business speaker, the first 10 minutes of the workday should be spent quickly scanning and prioritizing emails. That way you can determine if there’s anything urgent and create a plan for answering the rest later. It’s important to stay on track of what is priority and what can be taken care of later.
Forgetting to make a tentative schedule before getting into work.
Prior to getting started on work, make sure you have an idea of where your day is headed. Start off with writing down your top priorities and must-dos for the day. Check to see if you have any meetings or conference calls planned for the day that you may need to prepare for. This way you won’t be caught off guard.
Diving into your easiest task first.
Your energy and willpower tend to wave down as the day goes on. That’s why it’s crucial to get the important stuff out of the way as soon as possible.
Multitasking.
It’s really easy to feel as though you can do a ton of different things at once in the morning. But multitasking can hurt your performance on the primary task, it’s always better to do one thing at a time. Starting your workday juggling multiple priorities could set yourself back for the rest of the day.
Dwelling on negative thoughts.
Don’t let negative experiences that have happened to you distract you from tasks that need to get done today. Try putting those negative thoughts aside as you start you week and if necessary, revisit them later.
Having ambitious plans for what you want to get done.
Starting your day wanting to accomplish big goals may cause you to procrastinate. In order to prevent procrastination, break up your tasks and focus on what you know you can accomplish within an allotted time-frame.
