How To Be More Productive At Work
It can be hard to stay on top of a heavy workload when you have several deadlines to meet. While we don’t have a magic wand for you, we can offer a few suggestions on how to be more productive at work.
Unless instructed otherwise, you should assume that prioritizing your workload is just another part of your job. Heavy workloads mean more stress, and it’s pointless to blame your manager for taking on too much work. Bottom line, if your customers aren’t happy, they will go elsewhere. That means the company you work for and your job could be at stake.
How To Be More Productive At Work
List And Prioritize - Urgent Versus Important
Lists work: They keep you organized and focused. They also provide positive reinforcement whenever you check an item off the list. Create lists for urgent and important projects and sub-lists for major tasks required to complete each project. Deadlines matter: Other things being equal, a deadline is the most important factor that determines priority. Customers place a high value on deadlines and you should always strive to meet them if you can’t beat them. Stay focused: Work on one task and get it done, if possible. Juggling several tasks often leads to decreased efficiency. If you have to work on a few tasks, allow a certain amount of time to each one and concentrate on one thing at a time. Be efficient: When reviewing your to-do list, take care of any small task that takes less than a few minutes to complete. Otherwise, you will keep wasting time over the next couple of weeks continually moving small items from list to list. Use shortcuts: Learn to use keyboard shortcuts; you can hit two keys simultaneously long before your hand can reach the mouse, let alone find something to click on. Delegate or enlist: Sometimes, you need to enlist additional help despite your best efforts. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help so you can complete an important project.
How To Meet Deadlines Without Losing Your Cool
Plan your day with a to-do list: create and update at the end of each day; review and edit if needed next morning Use time-tracking software to log time spent on projects: you might be surprised and make a few changes Deal with email efficiently: see this post on effective email management Take advantage of your most productive time of day: we’re all different; don’t squander your peak productivity time Avoid situations that waste your time. Here are some examples:- Time stuck in traffic – leave for work earlier, stay later
- Unnecessary meetings – bow out if possible or try to limit how long you stay
Stay positive: feeling down and depressed saps your energy and leads to procrastination Stay in shape: you will be more productive at work Invest In Yourself: take courses to be more effective at whatever it is you do