motivation

Be Your Most Productive Self At Work This Summer!

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It’s July, which believe it or not… means Summer is here in the UK! We’ve had a few lovely spells of warm weather recently and more are upon us – which can mean a drop in productivity levels whilst at work. 

Here’s some of our advice to be your most productive self at work this Summer!

Do Your Most Important Work Early

Aim to tackle the most important items on your to-do list when your energy levels are high, first thing in the morning when you start work. As the day goes on, your dreams of being at the beach or in a swimming pool may make you less productive – meaning your more important tasks may be left unfinished or delayed.

Take Lunch Breaks – And Switch Them Up! 

Make sure you give yourself a lunch hour to break up your day and restore your motivation for the afternoon! Why not try having something different to look forward to each day when you take your lunch break? This can really help revitalise your mood. You could try reading a book outside on Monday’s, going for a stroll to the park on Tuesday’s… and so on! 

Work Or Take Meetings Outside

Getting outside for meetings or to work from not only provides fresh air, it also provides fresh context. So if your job role allows you to do so, make the most out of working outdoors during the summer months. A change in scenery can get your creativity juices flowing and reset your mind. If you can’t do this, at least make sure you get outside during your lunch breaks, as above.

Keep Hydrated

When you’re dehydrated, you lose a large amount of water from your body, resulting in feelings of tiredness or and light-headedness to name a few. Factor that in with the added heat during summertime, you’re not going to feel your best! Always keep a bottle of water by your side and re-fill throughout the day to ensure you’re keeping hydrated.

Enjoy your summer and remember to take time for yourself! What are your Summer productivity tips? Let us know by giving us a tweet @mbsmih.

RISE AND SHINE YOUR WAY TO A PRODUCTIVE DAY

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Whether you run a business, are self-employed or you’re an employee, the way you wake up in the morning can make or break your day. To get the most out of your day, it’s important to wake up early with a positive mind. Check out some of our top tips for maintaining an optimistic morning routine.

Don’t hit the snooze button – It can be very tempting to hit the snooze button and give yourself an extra 10 minutes in bed. By doing this you’re not only delaying the start to your day, you’re also delaying the end to your day.

Don’t check your phone for emails or messages as soon as you wake up – If the first thing you do is reach for your phone to check emails/messages… then stop! You may find yourself problem solving first thing, which in turn could put a negative stamp on your day ahead. You will be much better equipped to deal with any issues once you’re up and ready.

Go to bed early and get up early – Not only is an early night good for health reasons, it is also good for the mind. A good early night will help you rise earlier and create that 25th hour in the day we all long for. Early risers are known for their positivity, productivity and determination to solve problems.

Eat a decent, healthy breakfast – A well balanced breakfast is often seriously underestimated. Not only will it kick start your metabolism and give your body energy, it will also help you think straight. No one wants to start their day with hunger pangs and feeling sluggish.

Plan the day ahead – The morning is a great time to review what you have to do and plan your day. Working out what you want to achieve with a positive mind-set will help you reach your goals to their full potential.

Exercise – Morning is the best time for a workout as it helps boost brain endorphins, gives you more energy and lowers stress levels. All these things combined will make for a more creative and productive day.

At MOMENTUM, we believe a morning routine is brilliant for saving time and making your day more successful, however workloads can be too much no matter how many hours there are in a day. Our virtual PA services are extremely flexible and we can offer daily or ad-hoc support in a wide range of other services too:  https://momentumbusinesssupport.com/services/

How To Stay Motivated – Keeping The Momentum

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Sometimes we all lack motivation at work, start daydreaming, lack productivity, would much rather be doing anything else (the list goes on..). Here’s some top tips on how to keep motivated.

Personal and Professional Development Plan
If you have a plan like this – Great! If not, you need one!
A personal and professional development plan shows your goals along with a description of the goal, how successful it needs to be and your timescales/milestones. Creating one for yourself can be hard, you’ll need to think of everything you want to achieve, but don’t make it easy for yourself! Push yourself and make a plan that is realistic but still sets your goals at a high level.

Exercise
Sounds like hard work, but getting up early before work to exercise gives you more energy for the day! Yes we know, the first part is the hardest – getting out of your comfy bed. But once you’re up and out, either in the gym, out in the fresh air for a run or simply doing a work out in your own home you’ll feel great! – and you’ll feel even better once you’ve done the work out! You can then start your day feeling much more refreshed than if you’d had that extra hour in bed.

Sleep
This may be the most obvious one and also completely contradicting my last point, but you still need a lot of sleep. I know it seems obvious, but do you always get to bed on time and always get a good night’s sleep? – No. If you are lacking motivation at work and feeling run down, think about going to bed earlier. Take your mind off all those things circling around  your head, grab a book, grab a cup of tea, and get some rest. The next day will feel so much better – you’ll feel you’ve had a break and be ready to crack back on with the work!

What are you looking forward to?
Planning things ahead can be a really good thing when lacking motivation. What holidays, weekends and days out do you have planned? Take a 5 minute break to have a little search on the internet about the places you’re going; find some pictures and imagine yourself there – but don’t get too distracted though, just a few minutes…

Balance
Make sure you have a balance between work life and personal life. We all know that this can be hard when you run your own business as it becomes a huge part of your life and everyday living. However, if it takes over your personal life as well then it will be hard to get the balance between the two. Make time for personal life and switch off from your business life. Think about what you’re looking forward to after work, any plans, hobbies, friends/family you would like to see? – And make time for it!

Sense of Achievement
Aiming to end every day with finished tasks or accomplishments is a great way to stay motivated. A sense of achievement can become addictive, when you finish tasks it often makes you want to finish more – which is great as you’ll get lots done!

Reward Yourself
When you’ve had this sense of achievement either at the end of the week or even at the end of the day; reward yourself. Go have that big glass of wine you’ve wanted all day or go buy that handbag you’ve been wanting for months. You’ll feel so much better rewarding yourself when you know you have done something to achieve it. – You deserve it!

We’ve found, even if you try just two of these you’ll start to feel much more motivated – so what are you waiting for?