As an entrepreneur, your day could start at 2 a.m., 6 a.m., or noon, depending on your work and lifestyle. Regardless of the time, here are ten efficient practices to get your day started both wisely and well. Note: These are not necessarily in order, so read them with the idea of reasoning about getting them all handled within a cheap amount of your early morning window.
1. Leave the most important task (or a representation of it) front and town on your desk. You want your highest priority to get your attention First when you get to your office or other workspace. It may not be the very first item you attend to, but you want to know that it is a major commitment for today.
2. Have a clean desk to work from. This presumes that you effect some of next week's tips about how to end your day wisely and well...so stay tuned for those.
3. If there are tasks that you need to do to clear the deck for yourself, then do those swiftly and right away - no delaying tactics, however! If you need to swiftly process your inbox to zero, for example, do that. If you need to check the overnight orders before you do anything else, then do that.
4. Recap your to-do list for the day. Do a cheap ranking of what your #1, #2, and #3 tasks are.
5. Recap your appointments for the day. If there are any that you have not yet confirmed, then confirm them (or best yet, have your assistant do so).
6. Turn on your cup warmer. If you like drinking hot beverages, keeping your cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate warm helps you stay at your desk working instead of jumping up to go reheat your beverage.
7. Check in with your assistant or other key personnel within the first integrate of firm hours. Note: I felt the need to say firm hours because if you're like me, you start working much earlier than other habitancy would appreciate a call.
8. Proactively reconfigure tomorrow's tasks and appointments, if you recognize, upon reviewing your schedule, appointments, and task list that today is going to slop over into tomorrow. Enlist the help of your assistant(s).
9. Check your voicemail to see if any messages came in since you were last in the office that need attending to. Add them to your daily task list or pass them along to your assistant.
10. Turn off the ringer on your phone. You have voice mail and it will pick up. You now need to focus on your highest priority tasks - and answering the phone probably is not in that category.
Now! Get to work production money and production a difference! That's what entrepreneurs do.
Entreprenuers - Start Smart Each Day to Be More Productive, Earn More Money, & Have a Great Day