Start a Productive Workday With the Right Websites

Morning Light by chefranden

Your peak performance period is that space of time during the day where you maximize your focus, productivity and energy for two to three hours.Make the most of this period by prepping your workspace for instant action. Close the door and create a routine that both relaxes and motivates you.

A step in the right direction is to create a GTD bookmark folder with a short list of essential websites

Choose one website that you can quickly scan and easily pick out important headlines. Then spend five to ten minutes getting up to date on the world.

Constant interaction with co-workers is almost a certainty these days and building a relationship with them can be hard when you have little in common. Consequently, using current events is an easy way to invite people into a conversation and build a rapport.This bond between employees boosts productivity as friendly work environments allow staff to share tasks and information with a positive attitude.

Another option is to use services like Google reader because they allow you to create specific news feeds tailored to your tastes. However, avoid adding too many feeds and listing too many headlines as they can disrupt your focus.

Sites like Google News or CNN are better suited for quick productive reading because they condense their headlines into small specific categories on a single page.

Corporate intranet sites are effective tools in keeping employees informed on internal changes, competitive information and relevant industry news. Use this to your advantage and eliminate the need to compile this information yourself.

Products, offers, regulations and people are in constant flux. If you ignore this fact and are reactive instead of proactive, you will miss opportunities.

In particular, sales people face embarrassment when a client is better informed then they are. You need to know how your company stacks up against the competition if you are to remain competitive.

Google calendar is a great option for synchronizing family schedules into one easily updatable calendar.

You cannot give your full attention to your personal or work life if they constantly interrupt each other. During a workday, people trade thoughts and update schedules with their family by shooting emails, texts, or phone calls back and forth. This constant communication breaks up your focus and reduces productivity.

Avoid this situation by creating individual calendars for each family member and synchronize all the calendars together. This way, each family member sees how his or her schedule affects another family member’s agenda.

Start your day by comparing your personal calendar and work calendar. You can then decide how to divide your time, energy and attention at work and then home. A good tip is to forward “non-confidential” appointments in real-time from the office to the family calendar. Therefore, this avoids scheduling appointments that can wreak havoc at work and home.

You should take the time to plan your full day and ask specific questions like:

“Can I put in an extra 30 minutes at the end of the day or will I miss an appointment or dinner?”“Should I go all out on this presentation and use up my energy or should I push some tasks to the next day so I have the energy to spend time with the kids?”

Balancing work and a personal life becomes more manageable with open communication between all the parties affected. You eliminate frustration and anger when everyone works on a level playing field.

You can maximize your performance by choosing a period in the day when you do your best work in the shortest amount of time and use your sharpened focus to create an effective daily agenda that increases your productivity at work and home.

Philip Viana works as a Financial Adviser for a bank in Canada. He is hard at work developing the formula to a meaningful, mindful and happy life. He writes about productivity, financial advice, technology, and lifestyle at Burnthenegative.com or at his about.me page.

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