How to Get Work Done Fast Before Lunch

Getting started with work in the morning is no easy task, especially for those who don’t consider themselves to be a morning person.

Even when you’re struggling to stay away, you still have work to complete. How can you check off everything on your to-do list when there’s so much going on?

If you’re looking for something that will teach you how to get work done fast, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for easy tips you can use to get your work finished before you’ve even clocked out for your lunch break.

1. Schedule Ahead of Time

Try to schedule as much as you can ahead of time. Every day before you leave work, spend fifteen minutes filling out your calendar for tomorrow morning.

You’ll know exactly what to start on the next morning when you walk in, so you don’t waste any time figuring out your schedule.

2. Try to Exercise

How often do you go to the gym? It may be time to get back at it. Studies show that regular exercise boosts endorphin production, causing you to feel more confident about yourself.

A quick five-minute jog or a few minutes lifting weights will be enough to get your neurotransmitters firing. If you end up enjoying your workouts, you can always increase your gym time from there.

3. Decorate Your Desk

Consider if you feel at home when you sit at your desk. Is it a place that makes you feel miserable before you even turn on your computer?

Decorate it to brighten up your workspace. A cheery, comfortable environment will reduce your stress, making it much easier to focus on the tasks at hand.

4. Wake Up Early

On those days when you have a seemingly endless pile of work to do tomorrow, set your alarm to go off a few minutes early. For extra help getting out of bed, leave your alarm across the room so you have to walk over to turn it off.

You’d probably rather get those ten or fifteen extra minutes of sleep, but they could save you much more time in traffic, getting you to the office sooner.

5. Put Your Phone Away

If you really want to know how to get work done fast, you’ll need to put your phone away. Glancing at notifications decreases your productivity, so your work is guaranteed to last longer.

6. Play Classical Music

People like to play music in the background to get work done, but when that music has lyrics, it’s more distracting. Instead of singing along to your favorite tunes, play classical music while you work so you don’t get as easily distracted by your thoughts or things around you.

There’s also a science behind classical music and focusing. Research has proven that classical music increases dopamine levels, which will make you happier and calmer. These two emotions are crucial to have in order to have the best focus.

7. Make Timed Decisions

Part of what could be making your work drag on all day is the length of time it takes to make decisions. Not all work-related decisions will have a clear path forward, which makes it difficult to decide what to do.

In the future, try to time your decisions. If you come across one that you know is complicated, pretend you’re on a game show and give yourself one minute to think it through. At the end of that minute, suggest your solution to your team members or play it out in your head to figure out if it’s the right decision or not.

Timing your decisions won’t work in every case, but it’s worth a try for some of them. The key is to not make rushed decisions. Think through things calmly but quickly, and then weight the pros and cons after you’ve thought it through.

8. Wear Noise Cancelling Headphones

Phones ring, computers make noise, doors slam and you’re supposed to be concentrating. Every little distraction takes away a second or two of your focus, and those seconds do add up.

When you’re not waiting on a phone call or working with a team, wear noise-canceling headphones to block all the distractions out. Whether you play music or not is up to you, but they’ll at least guarantee you a quiet mental space that will speed your work along.

9. Ignore Your Emails

Like with timing your decisions, ignoring your emails requires a balance. You can’t ignore your inbox all day, but do some research and find out if you can make a pop-up notification for when a new email comes in.

You can quickly glance at the notification without losing a beat in your work. That way, you can evaluate whether or not the email needs immediate attention without putting everything on hold to open up your inbox.

You might also want to consider setting a specific time frame during the mornings, like the first thirty minutes of your day, where you dive straight into your work and get back to your emails later.

10. Pat Yourself on the Back

Don’t forget to recognize your hard work when your lunch break finally arrives! You may accomplish everything you set out to do, or you might finish only part of your task list.

Either way, you were still able to complete things you may not have gotten done if you hadn’t tried. Encourage yourself along your path to consistent, productive mornings.

Give It Your All

As you’re learning how to get work done fast, keep your mind open to trying new things. You might not have worn headphones in the office before or ignored your emails for a small block of time, but that doesn’t make those bad things to do.

Always remember to maintain a balance. Yes, it’s good to work hard and get lots of things done before the day is even halfway over, but don’t push yourself too hard. You can’t always make progress in one day. Keep up the hard work and you’ll quickly transform your weekday mornings into productive ones.