How to Create a Daily Strategy to Squeeze the Most From Your Days

If you ever go to bed feeling you could have done more with your day then you might just need a better daily strategy.

If you are always working reactively you will never achieve optimum productivity. At the same time, a poor daily strategy means that when you’re home you are thinking about work; and when you should be working your mind is drifting to personal matters.

Follow these tips to squeeze the most from your days and help to make your work time productive and your playtime more relaxing.

In the morning

Set yourself a regular time for getting up, even on the days when you don’t need to be up for anything. The routine will mean you avoid those days when you’re too tired and sluggish to start your day productively.

Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast; for example, oatmeal, Greek yogurt with fruit, or wholemeal toast with eggs will release energy slowly throughout the morning— meaning you don’t get an energy slump before lunchtime rolls round.

Very often, in the quiet time spent brushing your teeth or taking a shower, ideas and tasks for the to-do list pop into your head.

Keep a pen and paper to hand so you can quickly make a note and then deal with it once you are at work. Use a notebook, a Dictaphone, or your cell—whatever works for you.

At work

Making sure your feel satisfied with your day’s work and not bringing worries home about not getting enough done is all down to prioritizing your workload and organizing your working day effectively.

Try to have designated email check times, which means you won’t be distracted by them at other times during the day. Set aside an hour in the morning and before you go home to deal with anything urgent.

Another task you need to master is deadline task management, which will make those last-minute, stress-filled times when a project needs to be completed and you’re way behind schedule, a problem of the past.

Workforce utilization and productivity management platform CoAmplifi have lots of deadline task management advice on their website to help you become an organizational whizz.

In the evening

Being prepared is the key to a relaxing evening. Jobs such as getting your breakfast ready for the morning, making a packed lunch, and selecting what you are going to wear are best done as soon as possible when you get in, so with all jobs complete you can chill until bedtime and get a good night’s sleep.

Another great piece of advice you often see is to keep a pen and paper by your bed so if you have any big ideas or concerns that start turning over your mind (preventing you from going to sleep) you can make a note of them and arrange to address them when you are well rested.

So start the day right: work smarter, not harder while you’re in the office; put your ideas and concerns to bed before you turn in; and always make sure there’s time left for a bit of rest and relaxation, and you should find everything starts running more smoothly and you can feel satisfied with the day’s achievements.