14 Things You Should Do at the Start of Every Work Day

14 Things You Should Do at the Start of Every Work Day

The first few hours of the work day can have a significant effect on your level of productivity over the following eight—so it’s important you have a morning routine that sets you up for success. With the help of career and workplace experts Lynn Taylor, David Shindler, Michael Kerr, Anita Attridge, Alexandra Levit and Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, I compiled a list of 14 things all workers should do when they get to work each morning.

Arrive on time.

This may be obvious to most people—but some don’t realize that showing up late can not only leave a bad impression, but also throw off your entire day. “Getting in on time or a little early helps your mindset for the day and helps promote a feeling of accomplishment,” says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and author of Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant.

Take a deep breath.

Literally,” says Michael Kerr, an international business speaker, author and president of Humor at Work. “And do something to focus in on the here and now.” Many people come into work harried because they don’t leave enough time at home to deal with “home stuff,” he says, “and then they’ve barely survived another horrendously stressful commute, and then they dive into the madness.” Slowing down, taking a moment to pause, and creating a routine around centering yourself can work wonders, he adds.

Take five.

After the deep breath, give yourself five minutes to get settled in, says Michael “Dr. Woody” Woodward, PhD, organizational psychologist and author of The YOU Plan. “This is a good way to set the tone of the day. Don’t allow yourself to be bum rushed by frantic co-workers lost in their own confusion.” It’s not unusual to wake up to a long backlog of e-mails just screaming for your attention, he adds. “The challenge is taking a moment for yourself before diving head first into your day.”

Start each day with a clean slate.

You may have to attend to projects or discussions that rolled over from the previous afternoon—but try to treat each day as a fresh one, says David Shindler, an employability specialist and author ofLearning to Leap. “Leave any crap from yesterday behind, tap into what’s happening at the outset of the day, get organized and ready or hit the ground running, if that’s what is needed,” he says

Don't be moody.

You’ll want to pay attention to your mood and be aware of its effect on others. “First and last thing in the day is when emotional intelligence can have the greatest impact,” Shindler says. So if you’re not a “morning person,” try to suck it up and have a positive attitude when you arrive at the office. Grab a second or third cup of coffee, if that’s what it takes.  
Kerr agrees. “Your first hour at work can set your ‘attitude barometer’ for the rest of the day, so from a purely emotional point of view, I think it’s an important part of the day,” he says. “One morning grump can infect an entire team and put everyone on the wrong footing

Organize your day.

The first hour of the work day is the best time to assess priorities and to focus on what you absolutely need to accomplish, Kerr says. “Too many people get distracted first thing in the morning with unimportant activities such as diving right into their morass of e-mail, when there may be a whole host of more important issues that need dealing with.” Make a to-do list, or update the one you made the previous day, and try to stick to it. However, if your boss has an urgent need, then it’s OK re-shuffle your priorities within reason, Taylor adds.  
Anita Attridge, a career and executive coach with the Five O’Clock Club, a career coaching organization, says when you prepare your morning to-do list, determine what must be done today and what can be completed tomorrow, and prioritize accordingly. “Also determine your peak working time and plan your schedule accordingly,” she says. “Use your peak time each morning to do the most important tasks.”

Be present.

Even if you’re not a morning person, you need to be awake when you get the office. Especially if you’re in a leadership position, it’s critical to be present, mentally and physically, and to communicate. “One of the biggest office pet peeves I hear from employees is about how their immediate supervisor just blows by them in the morning without so much as a smile,” Kerr says. “Taking the time to connect with your team members is essential, and doing the seemingly small things--making eye contact, smiling, asking them about their night, and checking in on what they may need help with--helps you as a leader take the pulse of the team, and helps set the tone for all the employees.”

Check in with your colleagues.

“A quick 5 to 10 minute team huddle can also be an effective way for many people to start their day,” Kerr says. Make it a short meeting, with no chairs, have everyone share their top goal for the day, and share any critical information the rest of the team absolutely needs to know, he says. “Doing the huddles helps people focus and more importantly, connects everyone with the team. And by sharing your goals for the day publicly, the odds of achieving them rise substantially.”

Ensure that your workspace is organized.

Clearing off the desk and creating a neat workspace sets a tone for the rest of the day, says Alexandra Levit, the author of Blind Spots: The 10 Business Myths You Can’t Afford to Believe on Your New Path to Success.  
It can also help avoid confusion. “While most communications are through e-mails and texts, if your boss or co-worker stopped by looking for you and left a sticky note about a last-minute meeting occurring in ten minutes, and it's sitting on a mound of mail or papers, you're already behind the eight ball,” Taylor says. “Also, for many, it's difficult to think clearly, easy to forget important reminders, and just plain stressful if you feel you're fighting the battle and the tornado of mail or paper is winning.” Ideally, you’d clear whatever you can out the night before so you can have a fresh start before you even turn on your computer in the morning. But if not, make sure clearing your desk takes precedence over things like checking e-mails and chatting with co-workers in the morning.

Don't be distracted by your inbox.

This one is difficult for most people—but the experts agree that you shouldn’t check your e-mail first thing in the morning. If you do, only read and respond to messages that are urgent. "Priority-scan your inbox,” Taylor says. “Not all e-mails were created equal. Hone your ability to quickly sift the wheat from the chaff and address what must be answered on an urgent basis.”  
Attridge agrees. “Only respond immediately to the urgent messages so that you control your morning activities.” There will be time during the day to respond to the less urgent e-mails.  
Why must you put off checking e-mails? “For far too many people, e-mail and the web can serve as huge timewasters and distracters, particularly in the morning,” Kerr says. “Once you start checking e-mails, it’s a click away from watching the funny video someone forwarded you, which then sucks you into the abyss: checking the sports scores on line, the news headlines, the stocks, et cetera, and before you know it you’ve been watching a cat play the drums for twenty minutes and, like a poorly planned Oscars ceremony, your entire schedule is already thrown off before you’ve even begun your day.”

Place important calls and send urgent e-mails.

If you know you need to get in touch with someone that day, place the call or send the e-mail first thing in the morning. If you wait until midday, there’s a greater chance you won’t hear back before you leave the office. “There's nothing more frustrating that trying to complete something and not having access or answers from people you need because your day time hours were lost on other matters,” Taylor says. “If you have your questions ready and your e-mails fired off during early peak hours, by the end of the day you should have what you need.”

Take advantage of your cleared head.

Many people feel that their brains function best in the morning, and that morning is when they are most creative and productive,” Kerr says. “Consider whether you are making the best use of your brainpower and plan ‘high brain’ activities in the morning.”

Plan a mid-morning break.

This is the time to assess where you and take time to revitalize yourself so that you can keep your momentum going,” Attridge says.

Understand Your Body's Timetable

It's important to organize your day around your body's natural rhythms, says Carson Tate, founder and managing partner of management consultancy Working Simply. Tackle complex tasks when your energy's at its highest level. For many this may mean first thing in the morning, after you've rested and eaten. Save low-intensity, routine tasks for periods when you're energy regularly dips, like late afternoon. Everyone is different, so it's important to understand your own timetables, she says.

Prioritize Prioritizing

Prioritizing tasks takes a lot of mental effort, says Tate, so you should plan to think about your day or week when your brain is the freshest. Then, organize your time considering which tasks are most important, how much time you'll need for each, and the best time of the day or week to complete them based on your body’s rhythms

Establish Routines

Our brains are wired to be very good at executing patterns, says Tate. Establishing routines around the way you carry out regular tasks makes you more efficient and productive. For example, Tate recommends creating email rules to automate checking email, responding to routine requests and archiving emails. You may create a similar routine for opening, reading and filing physical documents. In the same way, stick to set routines for starting and completing new projects or delegating tasks to others.

Batch Together Similar Tasks

The brain also learns and executes complex tasks by lumping together similar items. Tate suggests leveraging this ability by scheduling similar tasks back-to-back. For example, you may make all of your phone calls one after another, or draft and send emails at one time.

Take Breaks

Complex tasks, like writing or strategizing, take a lot of mental effort, and your brain can only focus for a limited amount of time, says Tate. That means it’s critical to take breaks and let your brain rest. Take a walk or socialize for a bit. Then when you get back to work, you're energized agai

Create A Five-Minute List

When you don't have the energy to start a major task or you find your energy waning, Tate suggests using a five-minute list: A to-do list of easy, low-intensity tasks that you can do in less than five minutes. It might be an internet search, printing out and sorting documents, or light research. Whatever it means for you, the five-minute list can help you be productive even during the times you have difficulty concentrating.

Don't Multi-Task

One thing the brain is not good at is multi-tasking, or switching rapidly between tasks. Nothing gets your full attention and you’re more likely to forget things, says Tate. Instead, it’s better to focus on one item at a time

Do A Daily Brain Dump

Tate recommends eliminating "popcorn brain"--the incessant popping of ideas and to dos into your thoughts--by doing a brain dump, where you empty the contents of your brain by writing down all the myriad thoughts, ideas and errands that pop up. Just focus on getting them all out and then connect the dots later, she says.

Make Routine Tasks Fun

One of the reasons people often procrastinate is that they find a task boring and have trouble motivating themselves to do it, says Tate. But those tasks still need to get done. She suggests making the routine work more fun, perhaps by listening to music or trying a new environment. Have your team meeting in the park or during lunch, for example.  

Use 'High-Performance Procrastination'

Believe it or not, procrastination is not always the enemy of productivity, says Tate. It sends an important signal. If you're procrastinating, ask yourself why. Is the idea not yet fully formed? Is the task even worth completing at all? Is the project out of alignment with your goals or skills? Use the information to cull your to-do list and focus on what's really important.