Time ticks along at a steady pace yet many people complain about not having enough of it. In fact, most people don’t complete their entire task list on any given day.
Of course, not everyone who has this complaint makes the best use of their time. Far too many workers are seen gossiping, texting, or taking extra breaks on company time when they should be working.
Still, there are plenty of employees who work very hard but feel like they are getting nowhere fast. While it’s a common workplace problem, there are 5 ways to manage your morning and get more done in your day.
1. Get to Work Early
One of the first ways to manage your morning and get more done is to get to work early. For starters, you can begin at home by planning your wardrobe and lunch the evening before.
Also, set your alarm to wake you up 5 minutes earlier than you need to. This builds in extra time to combat morning set-backs, such as spilled coffee or some other minor catastrophe.
Simply making a few small changes can have a great impact in your day. Arriving at work on time or even a few minutes early allows you to start the day relaxed instead of in a frantic rush.
2. Plan Out What You Need to Do
Another of the ways to manage your morning and get more done is to plan out what you need to do each day. You can do this either the day before or early in your workday.
Planning your work ahead of time gives you an opportunity to add to your list as you think of important tasks. This way you start your day with a complete list of duties and nothing urgent gets missed. In addition you can prioritize what must be done for optimal time management.
3. Stay in a Routine
If you haven’t created a routine to follow each day you are likely wasting valuable time. Routines help you pick up speed as you work.
Your brain already knows what to do when you repeat familiar tasks. Therefore, the more often you do things the same way the faster you get at doing them.
If you want to better manage your morning and get more done, develop a routine.
4. Group Similar Projects
An additional way to manage your morning and get more done is to group work that is alike. Switching from one kind of task to another causes your brain to have to reset. That doesn’t happen instantaneously.
Each time you change from one task to a completely different one there is a delay. To maximize your time try to do like things back to back.
5. Put Quick Tasks Behind You
Putting quick tasks behind you is another of the ways to manage your morning and get more done. When you complete 5 to 10 minute tasks early on, your work load is reduced to just a few time consuming projects.
This gives you a sense of accomplishment that can motivate you to get more done.
Of course there is no way to actually add minutes to a day. However, there are ways to manage your morning and get more done every single day.
Originally published here.