Work Smarter, Not Harder: 10 Tips for Starting & Ending Your Day [Infographic]

Everyone has a daily routine and it’s never the same for any two people.

You might wake up at 4 AM and head right to the gym, or start your day by watching the morning news. The possibilities are endless. You might even be a late riser or someone who’s neither a morning person or a night owl.

Either way, how you start and end your work day can have a big impact on your overall productivity and performance at the office.Unfortunately, 60% of Americans say there are not enough hours in the day to complete all of their tasks, and at least an extra 3 hours and 54 minutes are needed.

This leaves many busy professionals working outside of the typical 9 to 5 work day and even on the weekends.

According to financial solutions company, Fundera, however, if you’re able to incorporate a routine into the first and last moments of your work day, it can encourage you to be more productive, and aid in a better work/life balance.

Let’s work smarter, not harder!

Paying attention to your current routine and work habits can help you identify what’s causing you to be unproductive.

If order for you to stay focused throughout the day, Fundera shared that in the first 15 minutes of your day, you shouldn’t:

• Immediately start responding to emails and other requests.
• Dive right into your to-do list.
• Pour a cup of coffee until you’ve had a cup of water.
• Get caught up in office gossip.
• Procrastinate on tough assignments in favor of busy work.

If you’re like me, a couple of those might have caught you off guard. I mean some people can’t even leave the house without a cup of coffee!

But before you down that next cup of coffee in one sip, consider starting with a glass of water. Staying hydrated has been shown to increase productivity by 14%.

On the other end of the spectrum, when you’re almost ready to shut down your computer for the day, Fundera suggests you shouldn’t:

• Dive into new projects right before leaving.
• Leave your workspace in a frenzy.
• Leave the office with a head full of tomorrow’s to-dos.
• Beat yourself up if you didn’t get everything you wanted accomplished.
• Let yourself be tempted to check in on non-time sensitive work.

Giving yourself 15 minutes at the end of each and doing the right activities will help you close out your day, and ensure you’re able to start the next day with a clean slate.

Now that you know what you shouldn’t be doing, check out the full infographic from Fundera below, to see how should you be spending the first and last 15 minutes of your day.

If you do something during the first and/or last moments of your day that wasn’t mentioned that helps you maintain a healthy work/life balance, leave a comment below, I’d love to hear what works for you.