5 steps to be more productive at work
Time is precious, and with a limited amount of hours in the day it’s important to use it effectively. Our guide gives you a selection of tips to be more productive at work.
1. Set micro-goals
Setting goals might sound obvious, but in order to achieve most goals, they should be broken down in to smaller more manageable action points.
Setting micro-goals not only breaks the process down into something that can be visualised, but in creating small tasks to succeed in, it aids motivation and breeds confidence. This confidence and motivation will greatly contribute to your success.
2. Track the time being spent on tasks.
You may or may not already work well with micro-goals, but do you really know how much time you’re spending on each element of your workload?
Try tracking the time spent on tasks for a set space of time. Can you be more efficient? Do some jobs require more time than others. If so plan accordingly.
3. Ask yourself each day "Is there a better way to do this?"
Every day can bring frustrations that tasks are taking too long to complete, or that the workload is piling up. Ask yourself at each opportunity; “Is there a better way to do this?” Is every stage necessary? We’re not talking about cutting corners, but if the process has been set by more senior management and you see a more efficient way, try proactively discussing your suggestions with them.
Even if you have already made changes and seen positive results, it may be useful to reassess your approach after some time. Don’t let things get stagnant!
4. Create your own deadlines.
Setting your own deadlines can help you become more efficient.
A self-imposed deadline can focus the mind, particularly on open ended tasks – say to yourself “can I get this done before 10 o’clock?” or “can I get these two tasks done by this afternoon?”. The work may not be due until 5pm the next day, but setting yourself achievable deadlines within the workload can be motivating, and can put you ahead of the curve.
5. Make note of the tasks that you are eager to accomplish and the ones that you are dreading.
Some daily tasks take priority over others due to their importance, or the way in which they affect other areas of the business, but some go to the bottom of the pile simply because we don’t enjoy them.
Putting off tasks can add to the pressure you feel, so our advice is that if you have a task that is a priority and you don’t enjoy, bite the bullet and tackle that job first.
You will find you complete your list of tasks much faster if you don’t procrastinate.
So that’s our quick productivity guide. If part of your career goals is to find a new job opportunity, make sure you register and upload your CV here, and we’ll contact you if we have any matching jobs.
