Workplace Productivity: 5 Tips to Keep You Productive at Work
Are you struggling to be productive at work? This post will provide you with some exciting tips to solve this problem.
We have all experienced days when performing the task we were assigned at work seemed impossible. Distraction at work has become very easy due to social media, mobile gaming, and other exciting things on the internet. We cannot fail to mention the continual commotion of people in the workplace.
Every day, we go to work intending to execute all our assigned tasks. But most times, by midday, you find that you’ve already given up. You are just waiting for closing time so that you can go back home. Why do you think this happens?
The age-old dilemma facing both employees and employers globally is “How can I be more productive at work?” No matter where you work or what you do, if you want to be successful, you would be constantly seeking new methods to be more productive and efficient.
What does it Mean to be Productive at Work?
Working longer hours or checking off more items on your to-do list doesn’t necessarily translate into being more productive. Since productivity shouldn’t be mistaken for busyness, it just indicates that you’re busier. Being productive at work involves producing worthwhile outcomes in the least amount of time possible. Doing this gives you more free time to enjoy.
It entails working more effectively, not harder. Being productive involves streamlining procedures, accelerating workflows, and lowering the likelihood of interruptions. The greatest strategy to increase productivity is to analyze your present workflow, spot any bottlenecks, weaknesses, or obstacles, and then figure out how to make changes.
As it turns out, a few small adjustments can significantly increase your productivity. This allows you to work fewer hours each week while producing more.
How to be more Productive at Work
Learn to Prioritize Tasks
The majority of a worker’s time is spent on activities that are not necessary and have little impact. For instance, do you actually accomplish anything by responding to 150 emails, or are you just wasting your time? Make a list of the things you do that produce measurable results and save 80% of your time for them. Allocate 20% of your time to busy tasks, such as answering emails and returning phone calls. The key tasks are certain to be completed thanks to this prioritization.
Choosing which action items you must do yourself and which you may outsource is the most important thing to keep in mind here. For many people, you have the impression that everything significant and urgent MUST be done by you. But over time, using this matrix, you begin to see that ‘urgent’ and ‘significant’ are two distinct qualities. Leaders who can distinguish between the two and organize their days around the things that they need to finish personally are the most effective.
Establish Systems for Your Routine Tasks
You probably perform a lot of monotonous tasks each day at work, don’t you? There are techniques to streamline repetitive routine operations using Outlook, Word, Excel, and other popular office software. Some examples of tools that could be used:
Communication
- Slack for team chat and collaboration.
- Samepage for video conference software.
- Zendesk for customer service engagement.
Task Management
- Zenkit for task and project collaboration.
- Wunderlist for listing your to-do’s.
- Wekan for an open source option.
Database Management
- Zoho Creator for a free online database.
- Ninox for a variety of templates.
- QuintaDB for a web-form builder and CRM.
Time Tracking
- Clockify for a free tracker, etc
Group related tasks together, such as writing assignments, question-answering sessions, or planning sessions, as your brain is more capable of moving between related tasks than it is of switching between irrelevant ones.
Keep from multitasking
Many employees think that multitasking makes them more productive, yet research demonstrates that multitasking makes employees less productive. As was previously mentioned, the brain struggles to switch between unrelated tasks. Furthermore, when you multitask, you are never totally focused on any one activity, which lengthens the time it takes you to complete each work and increases the likelihood that you will make mistakes. Determine your priorities and allot enough time for each work if you have a lot on your plate. In this manner, you may take care of the most pressing matters first and still have time to do the other duties.
Turn off all alerts and notifications and focus completely while you’re doing this. A Gallup survey found that more than 50% of US smartphone owners admit to checking their devices several times every hour. During work hours, turning off your phone, or at least your notifications, is an excellent method to stop yourself from constantly checking it. For your PC, the same holds. Turn off the notifications on your work computer if you have the option of using social media there. Logging out of your social media accounts is another wise move. Because your page isn’t so immediately available, you might be persuaded to check it when you feel the urge to.
Take on the Difficult Tasks beginning of the working day
Mark Twain once famously said that: “if it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
This means that you should finish the most important and pressing assignment first. Take on the challenging tasks first for two reasons. First, you’re at your freshest, and second, the rest of the day appears more manageable once the major challenges are overcome. According to studies, successful people tend to handle the most difficult tasks first before handling others as they are competent. Imagine how much easier your afternoon will go if those dreadful reports aren’t hanging over your head
Observe Your Break Time
By skipping breaks, employees can jam more work into each day. Your level of productivity is actually negatively impacted by this practice in several ways. Breaks allow you to take a brief mental break, which is essential for problem-solving in a creative manner. Additionally, breaks allow you to refuel your body and move around, which increases the flow of oxygen to your brain cells. The finest breaks involve a healthy meal or snack of a reasonable quantity and a quick walk or another form of exercise. According to studies, even only 10 minutes of moderate exercise each day can enhance heart health as well as your emotional stability and cerebral sharpness.
Conclusion
Be sure to do what you love in addition to these measures. You’re unlikely to ever be productive at work if you’re miserable there. Looking to change careers? Stop becoming your slave and learn better ways to master productivity. Your family, coworkers, boss, and family will all appreciate the effort on your part, as will your health and productivity. Some office annoyances can’t be avoided, such as when your manager asks for a brief meeting or when a colleague needs help. Your best course of action in dealing with this is to learn how to deal with interruptions expertly.
Be proactive and let everyone around you know that you need to concentrate. Set your work chat app to display “busy/unavailable” as your status. If you have a deadline, let your coworkers know that you need to concentrate, and would appreciate it if they avoided interrupting you for the time being. If working from home is an option for you, do so. Your chances of being negatively impacted by interruptions will be reduced by anticipating them and putting a plan in place to handle them.
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