How to Create a Start of Work Routine

Originally posted 2/10/23

Do you have a routine for your work day? Are there steps you take before you open your email? Are there steps you take before you leave for the day? I bet there are a few routine things you do every day. If you're working in an office or from your home office, the importance of a work routine is not without merit. Today will be part one in a two-part series about your daily work routine. Specifically, your start-of-work routine and your end-of-work routine. Today, let's talk about the benefits of a “start-of-work routine” and how to implement one for you.

If you spent a little time looking, finding routine suggestions for everything would not be hard. Let me know if you have heard of these;

• Morning Routine

• Evening Routine

• Workout Routine

I am positive that most of you have heard of these routines. There is a reason that personal routines are so popular; it's because they put our schedule back into our hands and control. Even if it's just a few minutes. A few minutes of a routine I design and put into practice is mine and mine alone. In a life where the world wants everything from us, taking control of small pockets of time is incredibly appealing. The other benefit of a routine is that it promotes organization and productivity. If that doesn’t make sense, hang in there with me, and I will explain.

I love this quote from Gary Keller, best-selling author and founder of Keller Williams, the largest real estate company in the world. He says, “Productivity isn’t about being a workhorse, keeping busy, or burning the midnight oil. It's more about PRIORITIES, PLANNING, and fiercely protecting your time.” Priorities and Planning are the cornerstones of a productive life. Taking time to organize your thoughts and tasks at the beginning of the workday makes you a more productive person, and it's taking control of your time.

How to Create a Pre-Work Routine

Creating a pre-work or work routine begins with what you already do. List your tasks before you kick into gear in the morning. This might not be an exhaustive list. I know people who arrive at their desks, set down their coffee, and head straight into their email. No pomp, no circumstance. I would suggest this is the worst way to start your work day. You have immediately succumbed to the ownership of the job. It owns you and not the other way around.

Once you’ve made your list, take a look at it. Can you identify where your time is no longer yours? At what point does that happen? If you say, “It's when I arrive at the office.” I am going to challenge you. Even fast food workers have a few minutes of self-preparedness before hopping on the clock, so to speak. Try to be honest about this exercise. When does your time become the job? For most, I would guess it's when you open your inbox. That inbox immediately demands your attention and starts flooding your time with tasks, meetings, appointments, etc. Do you find that to be true? Is it the opening of your inbox where it changes from your time to theirs? Well, that's where we start. Hopefully, you have a few routine things you do before opening your email, and if you don’t, I will suggest some later.

Now, look at your time once you arrive at your desk. Are you self-employed and you have as much time as you want, or are you an employee who might only have 3-5 minutes? Discover or create the amount of time you want to spend on this routine. I’ve given my workday start-up routine about 15 minutes. It used to take more time, but once I instituted a workday shutdown routine, it helped my startup routine immensely. ( More about that routine next week)

Ok, you have the amount of time you want to spend. Now, to be as productive as possible and work smarter- not harder- let's look at the tasks you feel most benefit your work day. Here are some of mine;

• Short Meditation/Prayer/Set intention - 5 minutes

• Review the day’s schedule and to-do list in my Full Focus Planner.- 5 minutes.

• Email Quick Sort - 5 Minutes

Short and simple but incredibly effective at keeping my priorities and goals aligned as I work throughout my day. Now you saw it, right? Opening my email is part of the startup routine. I have been working very hard at setting up systems to allow me to have a much lighter email load. I even have days when I live this beautiful life of email - 0! So when I say quick sort in email, it takes me 5 minutes or less.

What would you like your routine to look like? Maybe you include journaling at the start of your work day. Not a bad practice. Maybe it's reading a chapter in your book with a cup of coffee; I love that. Your routine doesn’t have to be like anyone else's. That's what makes it yours.

Here are some tasks you could adopt to help create your start-of-work routine.

• Clean up the clutter. If your desk is buried, I would suggest your first step is to manage the chaos. Organize your things, files, papers, and anything else impeding productivity at your desk.

• Write your top 3 things you want to accomplish today. You can use a planner or a notebook but organize your vast to-do list to the top three or four things you need to get done.

• Light a candle or run a diffuser. Create a Zen-like space for you to be amazing in.

• Reach out to three contacts. Set a get-to-know-you coffee date or a networking opportunity with your peers.

• Review Yesterday or Last Week. Take a minute to go through your notes, planner, or whatever media you use and review. Looking at what has already happened will give you the tools and information you need to make good decisions today.

There may be dozens of different tasks for dozens of different people. The only goal here is to organize them, commit to them at each start of the work day, and, as Gary Keller said: “Fiercely Protect Your Time.”

Last step - Assemble your list of tasks, assign time to each, and then - OWN IT. Put this list, this routine, this protected and valuable time to use. Having a Start-of-Work Routine may not change the world, but it has the power to change yours. Empowering you to be a more productive business owner, employee, or student has the power to change anything and everything you desire.

There is more to this story! If you thought the Start-of-Work Routine was awesome, just wait till we routine your end of the work day. Want to see some epic and positive changes in your life and business? Stay tuned to next week and Work Day Routines Part 2.

Until then, I encourage you to engage in this practice and walk through a few days to see how it impacts your overall productivity.

Till Next Time-

Jennifer K. Cooper

JKC Mobile Notary