03 Apr | Success cannot be improvised
It is impossible to establish oneself without sacrifice, commitment, determination and, above all, in the absence of an extraordinary ability to focus on one’s work and one’s own objectives. There are infinite variables that can influence the path of each but, in the absence of the right predisposition, you are almost certainly destined to fail even before you start. If the point of arrival is obscure, following some basic rules can help to clarify some aspects that are often overlooked. Here is how.
# 1 START AND FINISH YOUR DAY WELL
The most important habit of all is sleep, so carefully regulate your sleep hours as well as those you need to properly wake up: sleep well, for an adequate number of hours and start the day in a progressive manner. These are tips that are often heard and that just as often ignored. But what does this really mean? It means avoiding the usual gestures that are apparently innocent but could actually affect your mood. For example, it is advisable to avoid going immediately for your phone to check emails, social networks and notifications the moment you wake up: this is an excess of input. This should also be avoided before going to sleep.
# 2 TAKE CARE OF BOTH THE BODY AND THE MIND
It is a direct consequence of the previous point: a good psycho-physical condition is obtained by contrasting the stress you have accumulated during the day, or by reducing the workloads with programmed intervals. Eat well and regularly, exercise at the end of the day or on your lunch break, go out with friends and/or colleagues without returning home at unlikely hours, read, listen to music or watch a movie, these are all good ways to unwind and recharge your batteries.
# 3 FORCE YOURSELF TO ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS
Productivity is a matter of commitment and is maximized only with experience. Learning to organize one’s own time is a long process and one that is not acquired in just a few days. Learning and understanding how to manage emails, social networks and breaks throughout the day will mark a decisive turning point in your work life.
# 4 IDENTIFY WHAT IS NECESSARY, CONCENTRATE ON THE PRIORITIES AND IGNORE THE SUPERFLUOUS
A common mistake is approaching your work in an approximate manner, without a shred of baseline strategy, relying exclusively on instinct or improvisation. In order to avoid getting confused and overwhelmed by the accumulated deadlines, define clear and precise objectives, for the day, the week and the month. Schedule your commitments.
# 5 DO NOT PROCRASTINATE
There is a sure way to find yourself neck deep in water and that is to continually postpone what, sooner or later, you will still have to do anyway. Well, here is a little trick! We all have moments during the day when we feel more active and productive: whether it be mid-morning, lunchtime, late afternoon, etc. That said, identify your moment of super productivity and dedicate it to those difficult or boring jobs that you usually postpone to the end of the day, the next day or even the one after that.
# 6 TAKE ONE STEP AT A TIME
We are led to believe that multitasking is something absolutely positive and directly related to productivity. However, it is not always true.
Therefore, to avoid confusion and avoidable loss of time, set a theme for your work day and focus only on that: doing fewer things together does not mean doing less.
# 7 ADVANCE WITH YOUR WORK
Sometimes it happens that you finish your planned work early and you find yourself with nothing to do. It does not happen very often to be honest, but it does happen. You will probably be greatly tempted to take a long break until the end of the day, and sometimes that is the best thing to do. But if the day has not been particularly demanding and you know for a fact that the following ones will be full and complicated, carrying on with work will prove to be a wise decision.