The PR Life: One Perfect Work Day
Under the category “better late than never,” I decided to spend one whole work day following the rules I have been reading about for years. And you know what? This stuff really works – I had a delightfully fulfilling and creative day. And all it took was listening to expert advice and acting accordingly! Here’s what I did:
Early Morning Workout
Since I was up at 5 with my yappy dogs, I practiced my new weight training regimen in my building’s gym followed by a two-mile fat-burning run. After lifting those ultra-heavy 10 lb. barbells, the run felt like flying! Feeling very energized, I then:
Ate Breakfast
Could it be that all those nutritionists actually have something there? Just a small bowl of oatmeal and blueberries filled me up and made me say (not out loud), “Bring it on!”
Once I arrived at the office, I went straight to my desk and reviewed my:
To-Do List
Yes, I actually had one from the evening before and like an obedient PR professional, I decided to tackle the most brain-straining projects first. Before I knew it, I finished the list and actually had time to peek at Facebook and Twitter to see what was up in the rest of the world. The reason I was able to move forward was because I made it a point to:
Complete One Project before Moving on to the Next
I resisted every urge to jump around and multi-task and focused all my energy on each task until I took it as far as I could go without inputs or approvals from other parties. I was not “allowed” to move on until I got to that point. For me, this was extremely effective. In between each item, I made sure to:
Drink Water & Eat Mini-Meals Throughout the Day
Yes, I actually kept my water bottle right in front of me and drank out of it every few minutes. Instead of eating a big lunch, I nibbled at stopping points on celery, apples and 1/2 turkey sandwich. Then more water! Amazingly (just like they all said), I kept up a high level of energy all day. And the results were:
A Very Productive Day
Granted I did not have any meetings today and stayed quietly in my office. But by following all the “rules,” I completed two news releases, wrote a PR plan for a new client, placed radio and TV media for another client, proofed and edited two feature articles and prepared three sets of meeting notes for tomorrow. All in all, a very productive day!
Do I think it’s realistic to carry on this behavior every day? Probably not. But I will go back and read this post to remind myself what I can do when I pay attention to these simple maxims.
I would love to hear what others do to keep focused and productive on a daily basis - please write and let me know!
