Spending long hours at the workplace is the necessity of today’s professional life; however, what counts most is how productive and efficient you are at the end of the day. Workplace productivity is as much criticism for employees as it is for businesses. It means more opportunities for your promotion, bigger bonuses and better chances of career growth.
While in office, sometimes you finish your day with an elusive relief of sigh, while at other times you end up taking your task to home leaving you more stressed. As an old adage goes “it’s not the number of hours you put into work, it is the amount of work you put in those hours”. So if you aren’t satisfied with your usual work cycle at the office, you have to bring some changes to it. You need to change some of your usual chores and habits in order to become more productive. The following tips will help you in this regard:
- Get rid of distractions
To become productive, you need to minimize the distractions that come in your way. For example, social media is one of the biggest productivity killers. In addition to that emails, Whatsapp messages, and smartphones also impact your work. According to research conducted by the University of California, Irvine, it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to a task after being interrupted. Interruptions also decrease your accuracy. There are many ways you can eliminate distraction while at work. Such as:
- Kill instant notifications from various programs
- Come out from unnecessary chats
- Turn off your email notifications
- Use your smartphones more responsively
- Stay away from social media platforms
- Listen to slow music that helps you in staying focused
- Don’t multitask
Multitasking might sound like a superhuman activity, but the fact is you aren’t multitasking; in actuality, it is task-switching. A growing body of research shows that productivity gets reduced as much as 40% when people switch tasks. Another study suggests that switching tasks lowers your IQ. The point is if you try to perform many tasks at a time, you will more likely end up doing nothing substantial. Instead, the fulfillment of any task depends a lot upon your level of concentration. The fallacy of multitasking, as it emerges, is it forces you to split your concentration into as many tasks you are going to attempt. Therefore focusing on a single task at one time dramatically increases your productivity as well as efficiency.
- Prepare a to-do list for the next day
Making to-do lists well in advance aids your productivity. They provide you with greater focus and reward you with a feeling of satisfaction. Preparing to-do lists the night before allows you not to waste time at the start of the workday. When you spend even 10 minutes every evening in order to briefly go through the tasks of the next day, everything changes in terms of productivity. The reason is pretty simple while writing your tasks down, you are forced to also think through them and explain them. Though the to-do list wouldn’t change, you will get a feeling that you have completed half of your work in your head already. The next day, all you need to do is just look at your tasks and get them done.
- Take breaks from work
Working under stress drains your time as well as energy. Taking regular breaks from work will maintain your enthusiasm and always puts you in your productivity domain. Too much work tires your body and mind, and you start feeling difficulty in concentrating on anything. They go out and do things they enjoy doing the most like surfing and hiking. You can also enjoy your time and eat healthy snacks like fruits and vegetables. In the frantic pace of today’s life, it is important to connect with friends, attend conferences and talk to people in your networking relationships. Furthermore, establishing a strong camaraderie with co-workers is a great source of stress-buster; so it would be refreshing to share drinks and party beverages during company events and parties with your colleagues.
- Delegate your work
Delegation is a highly useful skill. Once you have mastered the art of delegation, you will notice how easier your job has become – only if you do it properly. When you delegate in the right manner, you have more time to stay laser-focused on your own important task. The important factor, however, is to assign the task to the right person, a person you know has the skills and aptitude to do it. The results of delegation in a right manner are astonishing. You will be amazed to see how much product you have become, freed to focus on what you need to do.
Final Thoughts
Low productivity is in no one’s interest; it neither helps a company nor an employee. So being productive should be your prime focus and make sure you are using your true potential. The above-mentioned tips will help you become more productive.
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