5 Basic Habits You
Should Embrace to Make Every Day Go More Smoothly
As the co-founder of Clique Media Group—the parent company of our four
content brands—Who What Wear, Byrdie, MyDomaine, and Obsessee—I’ve had many
funny realizations as we’ve grown our company from two people to a team of over
150 within the past decade. In addition to reluctantly admitting that I can’t
have coffee after 11:30 AM (gee thanks, insomnia), I’ve also finally embraced
the fact that the more responsibilities I have, the more routine my life is becoming—and that’s not a bad
thing.
Somewhere along the way, I discovered that the key to having a
successful day—both at work and off-duty—is to create structure that’ll allow
my days to run more predictably and calmly. Yes, on a good day, having these
routines in place means it’s all smooth sailing (and who doesn’t love that?).
But on a rough day, a day when everything goes wrong, these small daily steps
often save my sanity.
1. Get (Enough) Sleep
When I first started my career, FOMO meant that burning the candle at
both ends was standard operating procedure. But just because you can get by on
a few hours of sleep and endless cups of coffee doesn’t mean that you should.
The easiest way to set yourself up for a great day is simple: Sleep well the
night before.
If falling asleep doesn’t come easily to you, it’s well worth figuring
out your own best practices. Dr. Frank Lipman, an internationally recognized
expert and author, got us in the habit of practicing an “electronic sundown.” Yep, it’s exactly what it sounds like: no phones, computers, or
TVs for at least a couple of hours before bed.
Sure, you’ve heard it before, and yes the “no screentime” policy might
not make sense for you. However what everyone can (and should) do is figure out
how many hours you need to sleep per night and how much time it takes for you
to wind down before going to bed. (Literally) rest assured, getting enough
quality shuteye will make your life so much easier, it’s well worth not
answering emails into the wee hours of the night.
2. Do the Proper Prep Whenever
Possible
There’s so much going on when you wake up in the morning: Your inbox is
filling up, your dog needs to go for a walk, it’s raining and you can’t find
your one working umbrella. Give yourself a break by doing as much as possible
the night before: Pick out your outfit, make your lunch, get your work bag
together, put your keys where you know you’ll see them.
The big takeaway here: Make as many decisions for yourself the night
before so you don’t suffer from decision fatigue before you even get to the office.
And when you do get to the office, the prep doesn’t stop. In fact, that
brings us to:
3. Find a To-Do List System That
Works for You
There’s something so satisfying about being able to check things off
a to-do list, but that’s not the only reason I start my morning by creating one. It
really helps set my intentions for the day and keep me focused. Personally, I
love handwriting a list in my go-to notebook, but if I don’t have time for
that, I make a list in Evernote, which is basically my best friend.
However, that might not work for you. That’s why so many choices exist.
If you’re currently not having any success with pen and paper, try
downloading an app. And if an app’s only distracting you, try sticky notes. Somewhere, out
there, is a method that’ll make your life easier—however no one can find it
besides you.
4. Schedule Like Your Life Depends
on It
Similar to the tip above, one way to make sure you’re staying focused
and accomplishing as much as possible is to know what you have coming up on a
given day, week, or month. (Oh, and this might seem obvious, but have one place
to keep all this information—whether it’s an old-fashioned planner or Google Calendar.)
In my iCal, I’ll set aside specific hours to respond to email, devote
chunks of time to certain projects, and use the timeline I create to ensure
everything pressing gets done. Will certain to-do items get pushed due to
unforeseen emergencies? Of course, but having a record of them makes it easier
to bump them to another day or week.
5. Take Breaks When You Need Them
When you’re trying to solve a problem or come up with a new idea for
something, and the answer isn’t appearing, don’t sit at your desk stressing
out. Sometimes you just need to take a break. Getting up from your workspace, enjoying a little change of scenery,
and just moving around sometimes gives you the perspective you need to get
inspired and tackle the issue that’s been stumping you.
And, like everything else, this break should be whatever works for you:
Go for a walk, talk to a co-worker, grab coffee with a colleague you never see
outside meetings, eat lunch away from your desk, check out a cool site. It’s amazing how much more perspective you can get on a situation when
you step away from it for just a little bit.
So here’s the thing: Like rules, routines are made to be broken, and
inevitably some crisis will disrupt your finely planned routine. Don’t worry
about it too much; just try to get back on track again tomorrow, and, in the
meantime, that’s what happy hour’s for. Or so I hear
By Hillary Kerr
https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-basic-habits-you-should-embrace-to-make-every-day-go-more-smoothly?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=botw_05152016&utm_source=blueshift&utm_term=bsft_&utm_content=botw_sunday&bsft_eid=233a7db4-1a55-41f3-96ae-af6139f5f9f1&bsft_clkid=34abd43c-aa20-41ea-991b-2221ab80f5cd&bsft_uid=d4f9562c-4347-49cb-9544-373dd1f2b1f3
No comments:
Post a Comment