| This is what has worked for me for 28 years: 1. Establish a standard daily routine. Follow it every day, Monday thru Friday, without exception. This is the key. This is what you must do every day, whether you feel like it or not.
Weekends can be different. Mine (yours should be whatever works best for you): 06:00 - work out
07:00 - breakfast at desk, email, internet
07:30 - start work, short break every hour
12:00 - lunch (at desk or go out)
13:00 - continue work, short break every hour
17:00 - start nightly crons, LOGOFF!
17:00 to 20:00 - dinner, family
20:00 to 22:00 - my time, including logging back in
2. Have a dedicated work space. The desk & computer should be used ONLY FOR WORK. If you can, have a second computer for personal. Your work computer should be in a separate room with a door that closes.3. DO NOT surf the internet, text, chat, or use the cell phone (except for work)! This is absolutely critical. If you break this rule, you will never have a boundary between work and !work. 4. Before you go to sleep write down exactly what the first thing you're going to work on the next day. The rest will follow. (EDIT: Check out all of the responses in this thread. Most of them are excellent. Especially note all of the things that are repeated.) |