Spring. It’s one of my favorite times of year. Fresh flowers are blooming, the temperatures are slowly rising, and the sun is shining longer. It’s as if fresh new beginnings are happening all around us. As we shake off those winter sweatpants and start soaking up the sun, a new sense of springtime motivation arises.

So while you’re deep cleaning your whole house or clearing out that junk drawer, why not also make time to refresh your workday routine? To help you get started, I’ve come up with a list of work, and maybe life, hacks to keep you motivated this spring season, because when it comes to motivation, getting there can be a little challenging. I know change is hard, but it’s also necessary to keep those creative juices flowing.

Take regular breaks during your day.

I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person who can sit at my computer all day without realizing how much time has actually passed. Hours go by where I miss lunch and definitely don’t drink enough water – so not good for the body or the mind. Give yourself a few breaks during the day. Go for a 15-minute walk outside, do some light stretching, grab some lunch or call a friend just to say hi. This will not only motivate you to get your work done so you can take your break, but it also guarantees you’ll get up from your desk every so often – a necessary exercise for your body and mind!

Create and prioritize your to-do list early.

As soon as I sit down at my desk in the morning, I write out my to-do list for the day. It includes everything from client projects I’m working on down to an email I need to follow up on. Once I have everything listed out (usually by client and color-coded), I prioritize which tasks need to come first. This ensures that I have my most urgent items done on time and keeps me less stressed during the day.

Clean up your workspace.

Pet peeve: messy workspaces. I cannot and will not function at a chaotic desk. A disorganized desk will lead to a disorganized day, in my opinion. I’ve noticed that when I organize my desk at the end of the day, my morning is much better. Every evening I put my notes away, clean up any clutter from the day, close all my tabs and shut down my computer. That way, when I walk into my office in the morning, everything is fresh, clean and ready for a new day.

Save time (and your sanity) with email batching.

The second I’m super concentrated on a task, I’ll see the little email notification at the top of my browser and all focus is lost. It drives me crazy. Even worse, the email ends up being some junk or spam that doesn’t even matter. If you can relate, don’t worry! I have a solution called email batching. Give yourself set intervals about 3-4 times per day to answer and read emails only. This allows you to stay focused on tasks without having your concentration ripped away by that pesky notification. There are some caveats to this one, like if you’re expecting something urgent or need to answer a client, but overall, this one saves me lots of time and productivity.

Prepare for every meeting.

Whether I’m presenting a tagline to a client or having an internal social media meeting, big or small I always prep for my meetings. I’m a notorious over-thinker, you can ask anyone (especially my husband). So, when it comes to meetings, I can sometimes get in my own head too much. By having a little dress rehearsal beforehand, I can work out all the kinks, answer any questions and gather all of my talking points. That way there is no stone left unturned.