by Carol Gioia

Created on: September 04, 2010

If you have days when you feel disorganized, rushed, and before you know it, the morning is half over and you have accomplished very little, you may want to rethink how you are beginning your day. The way you start the day can have a significant impact on your productivity level.

How to start your day more productively:

* Plan ahead

Before you retire at night, make a list of all that you wish to accomplish the next day. If you have appointments scheduled, phone calls to make, errands to run, add them into your list. By planning ahead in this way, you will have a clear cut idea of how your next day is going to play out. You will awaken in the morning mentally geared up to accomplish the items on your list.

* Get a good night’s rest

Your productivity level is wholly dependent on the amount of restorative rest you get. If you are overtired, you might feel lethargic and non-productive all the next day. Go to bed early enough to get in eight hours of sleep and set your alarm to awaken early enough not to have to rush, in order to allow your day to begin more productively.

* Take a brisk walk

There is nothing like fresh air and exercise to banish the cobwebs from your mind. Slip on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and take a brisk ten to twenty minute walk. Starting the day off with some invigorating exercise and communing with nature will instill an inner peace and calm that will carry through your busy day.

* Take a shower

Baths are for relaxation; if you want to energize yourself for the day ahead, take a shower.  After your shower, get fully dressed and ready for the day before having breakfast. If you do become distracted with the needs of family members or a random phone call, which so often happens, you will feel ahead of the game if you are already dressed and ready to be productive.

* Eat a nutritious breakfast

Give your body the fuel it needs to perform at an optimum energy level. Taking the time to sit down and eat a good breakfast is a priority for beginning your day on a productive note. Do not succumb to the misguided notion that skipping breakfast, or eating on the run, will give you more time to accomplish things - in reality the reverse is true; you will accomplish less when a mid-morning slump occurs due to a lack of good nutrition.

By following these simple tips for starting your day more productively, you will be in tip- top shape to accomplish everything on your to-do list for the day and still have the energy to enjoy some leisure time with your loved ones in the evening.

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