Were you the first one in today, right on time or did you get into work late? Having arrived did you reach for the first assignment or did you preen yourself first, peruse the papers, make a cup of tea, visit and exchange funny stories with your colleagues, update your social media status or go through the messages on the phone that demand you re-send to 9 other people. Did you save this article to read later?
Not that a good prior work routine such as making sure you look presentable, drinking a hot cup of something or going through your mail is wrong and must be frowned upon but beware the time you arrive and the way you start your day. This may translate into the way you perform for the rest of the day.
Having arrived late you are in a catching up mode and behind with some things and before you know it the queue in front of you has gotten longer, the boss has adopted a disapproving tone or your clients have left frustrated and are making their way to your rival.
Arriving early and getting right into it means you stay right on top of things and when you say,
“It will be ready today.” It means just that.
It will not be something you say because, that’s what will get rid of the person in front of you. Or maybe even get a client to pay you and not some other business. Punctuality, getting started as soon as possible and the time you spend on assignments makes a good impression at all times.
Tackle the right things; do what you have to do and be efficient (put the newspaper down, you can read it at home or on your lunch break and the same goes for those personal phone messages). Instead of having piles of unfinished work that you wave at to show how busy you are keep your word and tackle matters as soon as possible. Return messages that will get more business, deliver goods, satisfy clients and provide that service.
Don’t pretend to be busy just to make yourself feel good.
However, you are not an octopus, so when you do get inundated, pass some work on to someone else or postpone it. That said, do things that are high on the priority list and are things that will yield results, that will make your client happy and that will earn some money for the business.
Eventually, clients or your bosses pick up on the way things work around you and will enhance your reputation or translate this into a bigger more lucrative deal or that much waited for and highly desired promotion.
