...needs to be split in half.

30 minutes at the start. 30 minutes at the end.

I've just finished reading Bert Webb's Two Ways to Use Your New Found Early Morning Hours - (link via Lifehacker) and as I followed the link, and the gist of the article, my mind reminisced of a prior teacher's advice - "The most important hour of the day - is the hour you first start work."

Having held that closely for many years, I've since found that while there is some truth in the statement, it's not the whole picture. So I found myself ready to pounce on Bert's advice but instead found he was purporting what I also have found true in my own working life.

My only change is that half an hour is more than enough to keep your time management and sanity in place.

This is how I spend the first 30 minutes when I get into work;

• Edit the Inbox - and I'm fairly ruthless with this. Most gets junked, some gets tagged, and a few are forwarded on.


• Scan my appointments calendar - I make sure that no appointment is booked in for the first and last 30 minutes of my day. This is preparation time.


• Make any calls that will involve follow-up during the day - ie. people who need to achieve something for me that will make my day work better. Faxes which I'm waiting for, quotes that need to be in etc.


• Process my physical inbox - this also requires the same procedures that I use to work through my online Inbox. Some gets filed in the trash, some gets tagged and added to my To Do List while others are forwarded on to relevant departments.


• I don't read during this 30 mins - reading is locked in for the first 30 mins after lunch. My job requires a fair amount of reading such as journal articles, pending legislation and outcomes of such and also reading peer forums. This needs to be done at another time from this crucial morning 30.

Once this is all done, I head to the staff room and pour myself a coffee and I'm ready to start the day.

If I miss this 30 mins or I break it by allowing an appointment to be booked I find myself trying to catch up all day without actually achieving it. The day whistles past at lightning speed and I can't catch my breathe until the next important 30 mins of the day - the half hour before I leave work.

This is down-time - analysing what just happened with the last 8 or so hours and reflecting on whether it was worthwhile or a mess that needs to be corrected. Here's how I normally spend it;

• Re-assess the To Do List - there is very few times when I look at my list and think that I should stay back and complete a few things. As Bert shared with his Big Rocks illustration, the most important activities should have already been completed or at least managed enough for the time being.

  Re-assessing the To Do List is basic time management. Tick all the tasks completed and add and prioritise the new tasks that have appeared during the day. I normally add tasks as they come to mind but find that they need to be sorted in this last 30 mins.



• Check appointments for the following day - the last thing I want to do is have wasted time in my day so if I have any doubts that an appointment may not happen I will call to remind them or at least have the secretary check on this for me.


• Clean the desk - if my desk is untidy I find I'm struggling to use it to my advantage. It just becomes unusable space. I'll often lose important papers or misplace documents that need instant effort. So I make sure the desk is clean and ready for the next day.


• Resource myself for tomorrow - this could mean a million things. It could mean having past files and documents at my disposal. It could be ensuring the tech guy has installed an important piece of software that I need to fulfil a task. It could even mean that I have a current login and password for an online site I need to access. Whatever it is, it just needs to be easily accessible.


• Ask myself the question - "How could today have gone better?" Continually adjusting the way I work is a key to understanding why I respond the way I do to different activities. If I can learn to understand myself better then I can learn to achieve more and remain content that I am doing what is needed effectively.

My day works on the principle of the sharpened axe blade. If it's not finely honed then cutting down trees will be an arduous task. However, if I start by sharpening it and end with a sharpened blade the day will run much smoother and I'll enjoy it more as well.