Time is precious when you are running a business and, when it already feels like there is never enough of it, having an unproductive morning can set you back massively (or at least it can feel like it). I don’t know anyone who can honestly say that when their alarm goes off they immediately bound out of bed brimming with energy, and if someone did tell me that I would find it hard to believe. And to be perfectly honest, I would find it pretty hard to even like them. When my alarm goes off in the morning, my first thoughts are almost always about how to make the noise stop so I can go back to the business of sleeping. If you are just not a morning person, I’m sure there is nothing I can do that will make that initial wake up less painful. Sorry! But there are loads of ways that you can limit the sleepiness to those initial few minutes after waking up, and help turn what could be a sleepy morning into a really productive one. Read More

 Some days just never seem to get started, like one of those dreams where you’re trying to run but the harder you try the slower you go. On days like that it’s tempting to just put your head on the desk and relinquish your day to the abyss of no productivity. But wait! What you need is a way to shake things up and get them moving. I like to think of this as ‘recalibration’: re-aligning yourself so that things start working like they should again.With that in mind, here are some ideas about how to go about that, in some better than average ways. Bring on the perfect break. Read More

If you’ve ever looked at the time while you’re working and gasped “Three o’ clock?! Where has the day gone??” then you’re in good company. Some days just seem to disappear from underneath you without anything substantial getting done.Well here’s the truth: there are all kinds of little odd jobs and distractions that add up to a chunky part of the working day, and that’s where you’re probably losing your time. It’s like how that bowl on your sideboard gets filled up with pennies and when you finally get around to counting it you find you’ve got enough for a large latte. It all adds up. So here are four ways you can get more out of your day. Read More