It’s back to school time – and that brings with it a roller coaster of feelings. From the excitement of a fresh start to the sad reality that summer is truly over. Kids, parents – everyone really – is heading back to busier schedules and new daily routines.
You can make this seasonal shift work in your favor by carrying a positive back-to-school attitude into your work life with these 7 simple ideas.
Side Benefit: Having a system in place for storage will discourage clutter and mess. Everything can be in its place the moment you step through the door after a long day at work – and you won’t have to think about it again.
Nothing wastes time like trying to figure out what you’re going to wear to work that day. Save precious time each morning by planning out your wardrobe in advance for the week ahead.
On Sunday evening, select what you’re going to wear for that important Monday meeting with your boss, Tuesday’s team lunch, the client event on Wednesday, and so forth. Designate a portion of your closet space to place your Monday to Friday outfits, including shoes, belts, and accessories.
Already know it all? Then become a mentor to someone else and give back to your profession. Studies show that there are lifelong benefits of mentoring for both the mentor and the mentee.
Cook once on the weekend and eat three times (or more) during the week. Simply batch-cook a few basic components and you can get an entire week's worth of lunches with minimal time and effort. For menu ideas and inspiration, check out Real Simple’s Sunday Prep School feature.
If you’re one of the about 67% of office workers who eat lunch at their desk every day, stop it! Pick up your bento box or brown bag and head to your company’s break room. Socializing over a lunch break gives you an opportunity to build stronger relationships with co-workers.
Not sold yet? Check out these 5 reasons you need to stop eating lunch at your desk.
Don’t forget to stock up your snack drawer with healthier options, like nuts and granola, to ward off the mid-afternoon munchies.
Use time blocking, or calendar blocking, to arrange your tasks into the hours of the day where it’s most productive for you. Time blocking lets your design your days proactively, rather than being reactive to the demands of others.
A Quick Visual Cue: Use a color code, like BLUE for responding to messages or ORANGE to tackle priority projects, when blocking out time in your daily work schedule.
You’ll gain new insights, build stronger working relationships and even likely become better at your own job – all because you understand the bigger picture at work that much better.
Back to School Doesn’t Mean Back to the Same Daily Grind
Whether or not you have school-aged kids, you can choose to use this seasonal transition back to school as an opportunity to refocus on your work goals, re-energize your career outlook, and reimagine your daily routine.