When I say today, since today is actually Sunday, for most people I mean tomorrow, but tomorrow doesn’t sound as punchy. Anyway, you can do this tomorrow too, just don’t put it off ’til the day after that, or that, or that…
Let’s get right down to it then, if you work the normal office grind it can really get you down. Here are my five biggest helpers to get me through a long day feeling chilled – if you’ve got anymore, please share them in the comments section to help other readers too 🙂
- Tidy your shit up – the one thing I hate more than turning my Nespresso machine on only to find my milk’s gone bad overnight is mess and disorganisation. Tidy desk, tidy mind, tidy body. Pick your shit up, sort it, file it, bin it, get a box and put all the cuddly toys and nail varnish in it and put it in a drawer. When your desk is free of junk you will be able to see and think more clearly.
- Get in early – yes – you heard me correctly. I know we need a good work life balance but getting in 20-30mins early will allow you to turn your computer on, get your coffee or tea, sit down and say hello to people in a relaxed and civilised manner. There is nothing worse than starting your day rushed.
- Say good morning to your colleagues and offer to make the first coffee round – you need people at work to like you. You know why? Because at some point you’re going to need them. And when you do, calling in a favour is a lot easier when you’ve built a relationship with them and they know you as the nice one in the team who wakes them up every morning with a good coffee (hint: learn how to make good coffee).
- Leave on time – you got in early, so leave on time. Don’t perpetuate the long hours culture – if you can’t get what you need done when you’re already doing overtime, you need to talk to your manager about getting training to get better at your job, or hiring someone to help. You’re not super human – don’t pretend to be then crash and burn.
- Prioritise your time – there’s another post coming up on this which will be more detailed but essentially, if you’re not a list person, you need to become one. Learn how to use the task, reminder and flag systems on your email and use them. Knowing what you need to achieve by when will make your life at work infinitely easier. Plus you look way more on top of things, even if you’re not.
So that’s it. Short but sweet (since I’m writing this on my iPhone sunbathing on an Italian beach).
I’ve included a photo just for your getting ready for work Sunday blues. Don’t worry – it’s never as bad as you think!