The secret to staying on track. Aside from managing your schedule vigorously, you should develop behaviors that help you enjoy your work. Becoming bored or frustrated could easily become distractions that will cause you to lose sight of your daily objective of being effective and efficient. Your work and home life should be separated as much as possible. Leave your home issues at home, and leave your work issues at work. When you begin mixing the two worlds, you will experience fatigue and perhaps unnecessary conflict. These conflicts are major distractions that will easily take you off track, causing you to miss deadlines. Let the ride to and from work be your transitioning time. On the way to work, listen to motivational and inspirational messages to help gear you up for the day. On the way home, listen to soft or classical music. This will help you become more relaxed. Another secret is to schedule your creative work in the morning. Things like writing a proposal or presentation require creative thinking, and you are the most creative in the morning. You have your most energy and thrive in the early part of your day. Once the afternoon comes, you will probably have lost most of your zip. Save work that is repetitive or mundane for the afternoon. Tasks like running a report or filing require less energy. Trying to perform creative tasks in the afternoon could become a frustrating experience, causing you to get off track. Finally, track progress, check off things that you have accomplished, and celebrating completed tasks are helpful in boosting your morale. Many times we do not get pat on the back or recognition on a daily basis that helps motivate us to keep a high level of energy and productivity. Take the time to track and celebrate your achievements. Whenever we check off a task on our to-do list, a chemical reaction takes place in the brain that gives us a good feeling. These chemicals are called endorphins. You get them all the time when someone tells you that you did a great job, or when you take a moment and look over the job you just finished. Help yourself by triggering these chemicals on your own by celebrating success, because becoming distracted or bored leads to losing track. Avoid it by following these secrets. Think of it. Whenever you do something you like and it gives you a sense of accomplishment, the time goes by fast and you get a lot done. The same holds true for your work. Make it a fun thing to accomplish tasks at work.
