The first hour

I am an ‘early bird’ and find coming into work early very beneficial. Instead of rushing into my day with meetings and action, I like to get in around 7 and spend the first hour of the day preparing. This can include several things…

• Catching up w people – team members on key items, coworkers or stakeholders. Some may benefit the project and some of this is just staying in contact with people, which is a very good long term strategy for maintaining relationships
• Preparing for meetings – looking at my calender to see what meetings I have and thinking about what topics I need to discuss or ask about. This helps me be prepared instead of just showing up to meetings
• Reading my notes – I will review my notes, action items or key messages to stay on top of the important items
• Reading the news – Sometimes I will use this time to read up on company news, industry news or world news. Being informed is important in business

By spending the time when I come in, I can be prepared for the day and ease my way into the madness because, once the meetings/messages start they usually go full on until the end of the day. So i really believe the first hour of the day is important as it grounds me and sets the tone for the rest of my day.