Productivity is a key element to success, but being productive isn’t limited to a strong work ethic, it takes thoughtful planning and forethought – just like anything else.
Morning Routine? Sure, that’s good for productivity.
The internet has been spiraling with articles about the morning routines of successful people, just take a look at “5 Things Super Successful People Do Before 8 AM” from Forbes; Levo League’s take on the topic, “What 12 Successful People Do During Their Morning Routine”; and the annotated morning routines of several interviewees in Inc.’s “The Morning Rituals of 15 Highly Successful Small-Business Owners.”
But what’s your night routine?
We get it. The morning is an incredibly important part of your day – like breakfast, it sets the tone for your daily existence, and those of your peers and employees. In fact, just this March we asked you these two very important questions: Did you have a good, happy and positive morning? Did you know that your answer to that question not only affects your mood for the rest of the day, but also has real and quantifiable effect on your work performance and productivity?
However, like the ignored little sibling of the golden child – the night routine is just as important. Planning for a productivity in the morning starts long before that early bird alarm goes off.
3 Tips to promote productivity
By enlisting just a few easy tips and folding them into your nighttime routine, your next period of waking hours is destined to be smoother, easier and most importantly, more productive.
1. Check your calendar for the day
Knowing what you have on the go for the next day allows you ensure you’ve allocated enough time for all your tasks and are ready to tackle them as soon as you walk into the office. If there any small additions that have come up in the past few hours, write/type/draw these into your calendar and always avoid the “I’ll remember to do it tomorrow” method of diarizing.
2. Pack your lunch, snack, dinner, water bottle, files, pens, metro pass etc.
You may have memories of your mom, dad, grandma etc. packing your backpack the night before school, with homework and lunch bag in tow. This made the morning chaos of shuffling kids to the minivan or school bus a much less stressful endeavour. The same logic applies here, pack your workbag – files and lunch bag in tow – the night before, so you can just pick it up and go in the morning.
3. The 2-minute clean-up
Cleaning is the last thing anyone wants to do before bed. But just a couple minutes of tidying up your bedroom can add to a restful sleep and a tranquil wakeup. Physical clutter adds to the mental clutter and white noise that occupies our thoughts. Conversely, a calm and organized personal space allows the same to be reflected in your state of mind when you rise in the morning. Of course, a positive, open, and focused state of mind is a necessity for increased productivity.