Do you find it challenging to stay productive at work every day? Especially when you have the same tasks and roles to perform. The monotony gets you down and you are unable to deliver your best. On the other hand, the hours are limited and it’s critical to make the most of them. You only have two options. Whether you can prolong your work hours on account of unfinished tasks. Or, you can work smarter and be more productive. It is not desirable to spend more than 9 hours in the office. So the only option that remains is to find the best ways to improve work performance.
Your office should invest in HR Technology. And you may take your refreshment breaks and see something entertaining online. But don’t get carried away. Get your focus back to work.
➤ Areas for Improvement at Work
Improving productivity is no rocket science. However, it does require you to be more deliberate about your time management. Tag along for some effective strategies for employees and employees activity to enhance your productivity at work!
- Start Tracking
- Work with time limit
- Set Deadlines
- Take Breaks
- Stop Multitasking
- Avoid Prolonged Meetings
- Productive Commute
- Achieve Perfection
- Take Exercise Breaks
✷ Start Tracking and Limiting the Time You Spend On Each Task
You may think that you are good at gauging the time you spend on different tasks. But guess what! Research indicates that only 17% of employees are able to make an accurate estimation of the time spent on each task. Here’s what you can do. Take a day to track the time spent on each task. You will realize that your findings are not as you expected. Therefore, limit the time that you dedicate to every task and try to finish it within it. You can even use tools to track time for your tasks.
✷ Set Deadlines
At work, it’s good to self-impose some work deadlines. You may think of stress as something bad. But as a matter of fact, a manageable level of stress can actually boost your speed and performance. The stress of time running short makes most of the people more creative. They try to achieve their goal within the set deadlines. For open-ended projects and tasks, try to set deadlines for yourself and stick to them. You will be surprised to see how your productivity and focus are boosted when you are looking at the clock.
✷ Take Breaks
Does it sound counterintuitive? Actually, it’s not. While working, there are times when we totally lose our concentration. But we stay glued to our seats and out anxiety keeps escalating with the ticking clock. That’s the time when you need to take a quick stroll in the fresh air, grab a mug of coffee, or stretch a little. Taking frequent breaks improves concentration levels. Research indicates that taking scheduled short breaks allows maintaining a consistent level of performance. So, don’t be over conscious about the time you are not found at your seat.
✷ Stop Multitasking
Multi-tasking is a big No No! You may be tempted to take care of many tasks at once, but it doesn’t work out. Neuroscience proves that multitasking is humanly impossible. So, don’t fool yourself into juggling phone calls, eating a snack, making a presentation, and catching a video on YouTube at one and the same time. Work on focusing on one task. get done with it and then start the next. You will see that your tasks will complete faster. Let the myth of ‘multitasking is a great skill’ be debunked here. And don’t struggle to lose your efficiency and productivity in an attempt to multitask.
✷ Don’t Have Prolonged Meetings
To be honest, meetings are perhaps the biggest time-suckers in the workplace. And yet we continue to fix them, attend them, and later on whine about them. Meetings prolong all the time with unproductive arguments and suggestion. One hour turns into two and two into three. So, instead of fixing another meeting and opening up many new Pandora boxes, try doing it via phone, E-mail, or a web-based forum.
✷ Have a Productive Commute
Many people have a long commute time to work. Instead of complaining about it, you can actually consider it a bonus. You can use this time to sort and answer some important emails, updating your to-do-list, and do a focused brainstorming for upcoming projects.
✷ Stop Forcing Yourself to Achieve Perfection
Don’t be disillusioned with the idea of perfection. Employees and entrepreneurs often are stuck on trying to attempt a perfect task. They would spend extra hours on chasing the illusion of perfection. And they would spend the time dedicated to other tasks too. Well, perfection doesn’t exist. So, deliver your level best and just move on. Don’t let one project or task eat up the time dedicated to others.
✷ Take Exercise Breaks
Take a few minutes to do some stretching in the fresh air. It improves productivity. If your workplace has a gym facility, use it. When your blood pumps, your head gets clearer and you can focus better.
And last but not least, don’t waste time watching in social media browsing and watching viral videos in the workplace. You will only get yourself distracted and lose your focus if you watch that content in the office.
