Not everyone is a morning person. It is important, though, to start your day right if you want to end your day being productive.
According to Business Insider, the first few minutes of one's workday are vital to one's productivity for the whole day. The publication shared nine mistakes that employees can correct to become more productive and reach their career goals.
1. Being late.
Getting to the office late can actually sabotage your entire workday. A study revealed that bosses saw employees who arrive at the office later as less conscientious, which results to them giving said employees lower performance ratings. Moreover, the study found that it does not matter if the employees fulfill the needed eight hours and leave later than the rest
2. Not being sociable.
Taking a few minutes to catch up with your workmates can help set a pleasant tone for you and others. Leaders who don't greet their team is seen as less approachable. In leadership positions, people skills trump technical competence.
3. Downing coffee asap.
TIME reported that drinking coffee in the morning is one of the worst things we can do to our bodies. This is because our bodies have high levels of cortisol during those times.
It means that caffeine would interfere with the production of cortisol, which is a hormone that responds to stress and low blood glucose. With this, the body would release less of this hormone and instead depend on caffeine. Drinking coffee early in the morning also increases the person's tolerance to caffeine. The best times to drink coffee would be between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. as well as between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
4. Diving directly to one's inbox.
It may be tempting to answer emails as soon as you arrive in the office. However, the first few minutes of your workday is best used to scan and prioritize emails.
5. Working without a plan.
Starting work immediately is good but you would need to have a schedule plan first. This would help you see what you can expect with the day ahead.
6. Completing easy tasks first.
Mental fatigue is a real thing. Your energy and willpower would tend to decrease as the day stretches on. Get the important things out of the way as early in the workday as possible.
7. Multitasking
It's so easy to do several things at once especially with the modern tools that we have now. However, multitasking can hinder your performance on your primary task. It's best to focus on a single task for the first few minutes of your workday.
8. Pessimism
Starting your workday with negative thoughts can easily distract you from the things that you need to get done. It can also set the tone and put you in a bad mood for the whole day.
9. Scheduling a meeting.
Meetings, when done wrong, can be a waste of the cognitive resources and energy of everyone involved. Meetings in the mornings are even worse. Mornings, as noted above, should be for tasks that need your full focus and concentration.
