If your goals are bigger, stick to a lower number. For example, if you need to finish a report for work, that’s going to take a lot of sub-steps. You can write a goal that just says, “Finish the Henderson report by end of day” and assume you’ll have a lot of sub-steps involved there. If you don’t have any big tasks ahead, reach for 4 or 5 smaller goals. You could write something like, “Return e-mail to Cindy, rewrite press release, proofread website copy, and return Carter’s phone call. " Remember, you may get more done. In fact, if you work hard and stay productive, there is a good chance you will exceed this list. The point of making your list is to get a sense of what absolutely must be done by the end of the day. Seeing your main goals written down can help you prioritize.

For best results, you should drink the lemon water on an empty stomach. Wait 15 to 30 minutes to eat after drinking the water.

Think of a relaxing, positive way to start the day. Social media can often fuel feelings of inadequacy, making you grumpy at the beginning of the day. Instead, stretch, meditate, watch the birds outside, or listen to a song you like. Make a rule for yourself about when you can first look at social media. You can promise yourself, for example, you won’t check Facebook until after breakfast. If this becomes a more serious problem for you, you can even block distracting sites on your iPhone.

Go for a real breakfast. Skip the processed foods or sugary snacks like donuts. Oatmeal, yogurt, fruit, and eggs are all great breakfast choices. If you’re in a rush, try grabbing something small on your way out the door. Even eating a banana on your way to work can help bolster your productivity levels.

You don’t have to do a long workout. Something as simple as 10 minutes of physical activity can help. You can go for a brisk 10 minute walk, do 10 minutes of aerobics in your kitchen, or run on the treadmill for 10 minutes. If you like something like yoga or Pilates, try to find a 10 minute routine online.

If you work on a computer, shut any browsers and close any applications or software that’s distracting. Log out of social media accounts. Shut down websites where you’re reading news articles. If you have a distracting program in the background, close it. Get rid of anything on your desk that may distract you. If you have a book you brought to read during downtime, put it away. Put away any electronic devices, like an iPhone or an iPod, that may take away your energy.

Try saying something like, “No, I have a lot on my plate today and I can’t add anything else. ” Or, simply say, “No. I can’t help you with that today. ”

Organize papers logically. Papers that you need to review or work on can be in one pile. Papers that have been completed can be in another. Keep your supplies organized. Have all your basic office supplies (staplers, scissors, pens, etc. ) on one part of your desk.

Multitasking is actually bad for productivity. It will take you much longer to try to do three things at once than it will to do one thing at a time. Instead of bouncing between different tasks, choose one, complete it, and then move on. Avoid things like checking your phone or email while you’re trying to complete something.

You can refer to the list you made the night before. What were the three to five things you absolutely needed to do? Start with one of those. For example, say you’re nervous about returning an email to an important client. Rather than putting this off and worrying about it, do it first thing in the morning.

You can also reward yourself. You may work harder if you know there’s a reward coming at the end of a particular task. For example, you can allow yourself to have a piece of candy after finishing one essay. You can grant yourself a 5 minute social media break after you finish planning a presentation.

Think about everything you accomplished. Allow yourself to feel a sense of pride. Congratulate yourself on anything you did right during the day. For example, think something like, “I’m really glad I spoke up in that meeting today. " Then, forgive yourself for anything you did wrong. Remind yourself everyone makes mistakes and embrace the fact imperfections and missteps are a normal part of life. For example, “I know there was a typo in that memo I sent out, but everyone makes mistakes. "

If there’s a chore you particularly dread, start with that. Once you feel like that’s out of the way, you’ll free up mental space to handle other chores. You can separate chores into different days of the week. For example, you can always do laundry on Mondays, dishes on Tuesdays, pay bills on Wednesdays, and so on.