Happy Monday!
Software startups are among the most productive organizations in the world. We know because we have extremely limited resources — and support a suite of products that could easily use 10x the number of people. We have to focus on the biggest problems and make sure we do our job of saying NO!
Are you more productive at the start of the week than the middle of the week? If you’re like me, I’ve found that I’m most productive during Monday mornings. The reason is simple: I know what I have to do (catch up for the weekend). After looking at what I’ve done previously, I thought I’d share some tips and suggestions on how to start the week off strong.
- DO NOT open your favorite news site. Immediately start with work, not distraction. This starts your day off strong, and undistracted. It’s always risky to catch up on your daily news. This leads to a “consumption” binge that will eat up your time without generating value.
- Setup 5 minutes of your time at the beginning to plan out your day. You don’t need to spend that much time — instead, just get through it quickly.
- Start with micro-goals: What are the things you have to do this morning? For me, it’s straightforward — get to Inbox Zero on customer support emails.
- When dealing with emails, take actions on all your emails as you go through them. If it’s an easy reply, reply immediately. Letting it wait only offers a distraction and disruption later in the day.
- Don’t start the morning by catching up with your colleagues on what you’ve done over the weekend. Leave that for an hour or two later after you’ve got a few micro-goals out of the way.
- When taking breaks, go for walks or take breaks away from your desk. I think it helps to build habits based on location — sitting at your work desk is intended to help you work, and not breaks or distraction.
- Put your personal phone on silence. It’s extremely disruptive to get a text or call when you’re “in the zone”. When you’re out of the zone, you can check your phone. If you need to check, also walk away from your desk to create that separation between work and break.
- Get to Inbox Zero – getting the simple things done can clear your mind.
- Create a company policy where wearing headphones is an indication that you should not be disturbed. Then put on your headphones and crank through your micro-goals.
- Catch yourself doing non-productive work, and immediately sit up straight in your chair and stop the offending tasks. It’s ok to accidentally fall out of productivity. The key is to catch yourself and fix it!
I hope this is useful. Let me know which of these work best for you!
Cheers,
Hai