Let’s be honest – some days, no matter how hard we try, we just can’t get inspired and it kills our productivity! It happens to everyone. No matter how much you love what you do, every once in awhile we can have an off day (or week). Don’t beat yourself up over it. Today, we are here to help get your inspiration back and get productive!
Let’s dive in!
- Create and embrace a morning routine: Routines help us set the tone for the rest of your day. If you are rushing in the mornings, you will end up creating chaos and stress for yourself. Take some time to plan out your mornings and set a new routine. Set your alarm clock a little earlier (and go to sleep earlier to make this easier) and give yourself time in the morning to sit and get your head in the right space for your daily life and business goals. Take time to enjoy your coffee and/or breakfast. This is also a great time to exercise or meditate or listen to uplifting music or podcasts that inspire you. Slow down and take this time to think about the things you want and need to accomplish throughout the day. Adding a routine and time to focus on your day to come, will allow you to start the day on a positive note as opposed to rushing around and starting the day feeling overwhelmed. Whatever it is you choose to do with the time, make sure it is positive and make it a daily priority.
- Set a time in every morning to do something you have been avoiding: You know that important thing that needs to get done, but you keep pushing it off? I can guarantee you that you think about it often and stress out over it! Start tackling these things and get them out of the way! Doing this will relieve so much stress and allow you to focus on everything else! Set some time daily that is JUST for these tasks. Put it on your calendar (daily) at the same time each day (maybe the first thing you do when you get to the office) and don’t allow distractions. Get the task done and out of the way and give yourself a big ‘ol pat on the back afterwards.
- Dedicate 20 – 30 minutes daily to learn something new: We can never learn enough, right? With business, technology, marketing, trends etc moving at such a fast pace and constantly changing – we could all get great value from taking time each day to learn something new. This could be as simple as reading or watching a tutorial that interest you or finding a step-by-step post about “How to master Facebook Ads”. It can be in-line with your business or just something you wanted to learn in your free time (i.e:sign up for that salsa class!). It’s amazing how sometimes learning something new, can impact your business (even when it’s not related) Inspiration is everywhere!
- Stay OFF of social media (except when necessary): Social media can be a total time-sucker! Worst of all, it can actually become an energy-sucker as well. Yes, we all know how it goes… you have a few minutes to kill and you decide to scroll through your social feed just to see what all of your friends and family are posting about. Next thing you know, you see something that you don’t like and you realize you spent almost your whole day going back and forth with people on social media. Try to stay away from social media except when necessary – this means, if you are promoting your products and services, responding to followers (business related) or placing ads etc – by all means do your business. Other than that, force yourself to log off and not allow the negativity to lure you in (especially on those days that you NEED motivation – sites like Facebook can derail your day quicker than you will ever realize!).
- Create YOUR best environment: Everyone is different! This means that not everyone can work effectively in the same type of environment as everyone else. Some people require a closed office door with absolutely no distractions while other people need some upbeat music in the background and a shared workspace. Whatever it is – find what environment brings out the most productive work, for you. If you have employees, consider extending this option to them as well to keep them happy and productive.
- Take time to regroup: Maybe you just had a stressful meeting or had an angry phone call from a client. You are stressed and your focus is out the window! Take a breather. Take a short walk or go grab yourself a cup of coffee and allow yourself a few minutes to re-center yourself. Taking the time to clear your mind will allow you to not only regain your momentum for the day – but it will also give you time to shake things off and possibly come up with a solution to any problem that arose. Most importantly, it will keep the rest of the office working productively without allowing the stress to infiltrate and put everyone else on edge as well.
- End your day with a routine: Yes, just like your morning routine you set up, it is time to come up with a positive nightly routine as well. Make sure you are getting to bed around the same time every night, take time to unwind and soak in the day. Don’t ponder on the negative however, if the day didn’t go too well – think of positive steps you can take the next day to fix any issues. Allow yourself time to unwind with something you enjoy, like a good book or TV show or a relaxing bath. Step away from your electronics at least a half hour to an hour before bed and allow yourself some “me time” (that means – stop working).
After some time, you will realize that these simple steps, routines and moments of mindful reflections will benefit your work day tremendously! Not only will you also begin to feel less stress – your co-workers and employees will also feel the peaceful shift and in turn create a more productive environment all around!
Do you have any tips that you would add to our list? Let us know what secrets you have found work best for you!