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Brick No16: Add 7 extra working weeks to your year
By Matt Weston, Tuesday 11 November 2003 Start your day bright and early. If you can add an extra productive hour to your working day, you can effectively add 7 extra working weeks to your year. I believe that, if you run your own business or work from home, an early hour is typically a more productive hour than a late hour. OK, some of us are constrained by family and external pressures, but if you have any choice between working early or late, work early. Why the early bird catches the worm – – If you can get your first 3 tasks under your belt by 9am, you'll enjoy a smug satisfaction. Remember, most people don't even start their working day until 9, so you're already a step ahead of the competition – If you start work at 7 instead of 9, you'll have worked 5 hours, not 3, by midday. Psychologically, you'll have got the lion's share of your working day complete before the afternoon has started – Starting earlier means you're less likely to ruin your evenings and weekends – the valuable time you get to spend with your friends and family – If you have to travel to your workplace, you can do so before the rush hour – The early hours mean less disruptions, less phones ringing, more work done – I find that 7-9am is a great time to get hold of important people and decision makers. Bosses tend to arrive before their staff, and the round of meetings won't have started, so you're much more likely to get through to the right person directly – Your emails are more likely to get a reply if they are time-tagged as first thing. An early email sends a statement: it shows the email must be important, if you've made the effort to start work at 7 to write it – The clocks went back a couple of weeks ago, so consequently it's a bit lighter in the mornings. Make the most of the natural light by starting earlier and finishing on time. Even if you're not a natural early bird – apparently it's something to do with being blessed with a long Period 3 gene that regulates your body clock – it's possible and worth making every effort to override nature. There are distinct business advantages to getting started before your competition, and the excuse 'I'm not an early morning person' just doesn't wash. Start my 3 point action plan today (1) Set your alarm 1 minute earlier a day (or 5 minutes a week) There's no worse way to start your day than by setting your alarm to get up an hour or two earlier yet finding you can't haul yourself out of bed, slapping the sleep button on your alarm, again, and again. It's happened to us all. Michael Masterson of Early to Rise passes on this wonderful but simple tip: set your alarm just 1 minute earlier each day. Almost painlessly, within a month, you'll be getting up 30 minutes earlier, within 2 months, an hour earlier. His tip has worked for me, and saves on willpower. I find radio alarms are much more effective than simple ringer alarms. I set the channel to one that offers rolling news. I find the headlines give my brain some food to work on, and get me out of bed eager to take on the world. (2) Eat Breakfast Believe me, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. The earlier you get some food in your belly, the quicker you get your blood sugar levels, your brain and your body going. I've not missed eating breakfast for over 8 years now. Brown bread banana sandwiches get my current nod of approval, washed down by a shot of espresso. (3) Always use your extra time productively There's no point starting work an hour earlier if you don't use the time productively. Early time has to be productive time – you must have a purpose. Answer your emails, cross off your first three to-dos of the day, scour the press for news relevant to your business or do your daily accounts. Just make sure you get something done – if you've spent your extra hour supping coffee, you've got your day off to an unproductive, dispiriting start. Productive time can lead to quality time – if you can get an hour's work done before the kids get up, you'll feel more relaxed about taking more time over a leisurely breakfast. Reward yourself for completing your extra early hours with some quality time spent on you – a coffee, a newspaper, yoga, a swim, whatever works for you. Shutdown time Don't use getting up early as an excuse to simply stretch out your working day. You should work smarter, more productively, not necessarily longer. Try, as often as possible, to set and keep to a shutdown time or event every day. This could be when your partner or children come home, when you go to meet a friend, or when a radio or TV show comes on. I've found this especially important when I've been working at home, where the line between work and home is very blurred. Before you shutdown, write down the tasks you plan to complete in your early hour or hours the following day. And don't forget to put your alarm back another minute! Remember to sign up: back to top |
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