Time Management

What do you do when you first sit down at your desk in the morning? If you immediately check your emails and put together a list of tasks to be completed by the end of the day, stop.

Seriously.

If you find yourself frazzled when you first walk in the door, you probably need to reassess your priorities: the first hour of work lays the foundation for the rest of your day. Treat the first hour at work as a time to consider your schedule for the day. An inbox with a laundry list of new emails might seem urgent, but in the grand scheme of things, the vast majority of those emails do not need immediate attention. Instead of firing off responses after you’ve just sat down, slow down and take the time to look at the day as a whole. You’ll find that your shoulders will sag much less without all the pressing tasks you’ve given yourself to start your day off with a bang.

In 2005, the late Steve Jobs delivered his notable commencement speech to Stanford’s graduating class. Often referred to as his “Find What You Love” speech, Jobs stressed the importance of loving what you do and offered a handful of anecdotes to bring light to the notion. Jobs shared his personal habit of looking in the mirror each morning and asking if today were his last day on earth, would he want to be doing what he was about to do for the day. Jobs’ message is powerful: do what you love and your work won’t be work. Spend some time each morning considering your career and if you love what you do. If you find yourself saying “No” too frequently, consider making a change. This is not to say that you should drop everything, but consider using your reflection time in the mornings to change your perspective or approach to what you do. Being at ease with your tasks and responsibilities makes work more enjoyable.

After assessing our work, most of us will be stuck with at least a few daunting or unpleasant tasks, no matter how much we love our job. Mark Twain once wrote, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” If your most demanding task seems as daunting as gobbling down the aforementioned frog, tackle it first thing in the morning. By completing a more sizable item on your to-do list early in the day, all of those small and nagging tasks seem much more manageable without the big one hovering over your head. End your workday by writing down your “frog” for the next day on a sticky note, and leave it on your desk for the following morning. This makes your goal clear and accessible.

The first hour of your work day should serve to reduce stress and increase your productivity. A steady flow catalyzes such productivity, and the best way to generate this flow is by light and self-reflecting activity. Taking the time to get yourself in the right state of mind will be your greatest resource in tackling day-to-day challenges.