If you’re a working professional, an independent contractor or an entrepreneur, you probably share a common goal with many others: maximizing your daily productivity. It’s not an impossible feat to achieve, but it does require some discipline and planning. Besides crafting a daily agenda that includes a few top priority tasks, it’s just as important to attend to a self-care regimen. Taking frequent breaks and adopting a healthy morning ritual will help keep you retain the focus you need to accomplish the objectives for which you plan every day.
Your Morning Ritual: Preparation for Your Day
Just as crafting a daily plan and ensuring you take breaks is crucial to your success, your morning ritual should serve as physical, mental and emotional preparation. Rushing into your day will do you no good, as millions of working professionals can already confirm. Besides eating a healthy breakfast, make sure you incorporate some sort of activity that permits you to relax and focus. For some, it’s a quick walk around the neighborhood or a short run. Others might choose meditation, reciting a mantra or even prayer. Whatever your preferred method, make sure it’s a consistent portion of your morning routine.
Don’t Skip Breaks and Lunches
The biggest mistake many professionals make is putting their noses to the grindstone and moving through their days without any breaks. Here’s a disturbing statistic: only one out of every five employees takes an actual lunch away from their desk, according to a 2012 survey by Right Management. While much of this is a reflection on how modern workers are attempting to cope with ever increasing workloads, it’s also a dangerous trend. Staying at your desk and eating while working does nothing to amp up productivity. In fact, evidence suggests the reverse is true and that periodically changing your scenery increases your capacity for creativity and innovation. When you’re mapping out your days, be sure to institute a couple of short breaks and a lunch away from your desk. If nothing else, you’ll feel refreshed by a change of scenery, and you increase your likelihood of maintaining creativity while staving off fatigue and procrastination.
Effectiveness and Productivity Begins With Planning and Self-Care
Without making a daily plan that includes taking care of yourself, you don’t have a good basis for increasing your focus and productivity. Comparisons of the human body to machines aren’t too far off, especially considering the fact that regular care and rest are needed. Be sure to include daily breaks and a lunch away from your desk into your schedule. Moreover, prepare yourself each morning with a ritual that focuses on eating healthy food and clearing your mind before your day begins. Following these steps will not only foster personal wellness but assist you in being a more effective and productive person.
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