What Tasks are Part of Your Daily Work Routine?

The daily work routine that you establish at the beginning and end of your day are among the most important ones of the day. Why? They help you start the day very focused, give you a little more control over your day, and make sure that the daily high priority tasks stay on your radar.

I personally find that when I don’t follow my routines in the morning or evening the day is more chaotic. I’m just not as productive as I would otherwise be.

Creating this daily work routine should be very straightforward. They should include a short list of tasks to tackle and they should all be completed within 10-15 minutes. While the list should be customized to your situation, here’s an example of the types of tasks to include some of which are part of my routine.

In the morning:

1. Do a quick scan of your emails keeping an eye out for messages containing tasks requiring immediate attention.

2. Review your daily calendar making note of the meetings and open blocks of time.

3. Assess the status of ongoing projects in your project management program.

At the end of the day:

1. Clear your desk. File what needs to be kept, discard what’s not needed and put away the rest.

2. Review and update your to-do list while the day’s events are still top of mind. Flag the priorities.

3. Check your calendar for early morning meetings so that you’ll be prepared.

Once you have established your own daily work routine, follow it consistently as the benefits will be well worth it. Remember that this is not meant to be a time-consuming process. It should only take about 10 minutes or so at the start and end of your day. What tasks are part of your daily routine?  Please share  with me.