Here are some additional tips for your work day.
Minimize Distractions
When you work on a task, aim to be focused on it till you complete it. If it is a large endeavor, break it up into smaller tasks and take breaks every two hours. While some jobs and emergency response projects require ongoing email access 24/7, most do not. You can schedule out and plan your email usage. It has become common habit for people to spend hours on their smartphones daily and to check their phones every few minutes. This behavior is not productive and prevents you from focusing on any meaningful endeavor fully.
You may find it helpful to check your email in the morning as you start your day and then again two more times, once in the afternoon and one later in the evening. You can set a time when you stop checking email like 9 or 10 p.m. before you go to bed. Aim to have some time to yourself so that the last thing that you think of in your mind as you drift off to sleep, is not worrying you and preventing you from sleeping well.
Get up and move from your desk every two hours at least. Try to walk whenever you can can to get in some movement and avoid head, neck and shoulder pain from sitting at a desk for hours on end. If you do snack during the day, choose healthy snacks like fruit, nuts and energy bars. Your afternoon cup of coffee may help you jumpstart a slow or sluggish afternoon, but aim to stop drinking any caffeine before 5 p.m., several hours before you sleep.
Whether you are running a business or you have several financial expenses of your own to tally up, aim to do it during the day well before dinner so that you can approach it with a clear mind. This will also help you sleep better at night. Keep a working list of your expenses, so that you can prioritize payments and keep making progress on larger goals.
Letting Go of the Day
Finally, it is time to let go of your day. You may find it helpful to literally tear up your written to-do list and throw it away, signaling the end of your work day. Far too often, CEOs and small business owners are plagued by guilt, feeling that they have not done enough, despite having accomplished many things during the day. This is because they have a lot to do to run their businesses and achieve goals they have in mind. As you let go of the day, it is important to take a moment to also review mentally what you achieved that day and appreciate that. Plan out some priorities for the next day so you can fully let go of your day when you leave your office or end your work day. Later when you go to bed, you also can take a moment to go over what you did not achieve that day or obstacles you faced and let them go. It is important to let go of negative experiences so you can be free to enjoy your next day with a clear mind and positive spirit. When you go through mentally any event from the day that did not go as you wished, try to visualize it occurring the way you wanted. This act also frees you up from any sense of guilt or fear and if you need to ask for forgiveness for your mistakes, do so in a prayer or meditation. Then you can truly let the day go and enjoy your night and sleep well.
For those night-time oriented individuals like the developers at Potato London who do not operate at their best during the morning, but do their best creative work later in the day or at night, you can still use these ideas in a schedule that works best for you.
Remember, to give yourself enough time to adopt new habits. 21 days or three weeks is a general rule of thumb when it comes to making behavior changes and truly adopting a new habit. Stay positive as you make progress. You will find that as you master the elements of your own life, that you are able to achieve bigger goals and take on more leadership responsibility in many other areas of your life. Personal self-mastery is key to high achievement and success. We hope you find these tips helpful in creating a more rewarding, fulfilling and successful life.