You know how it goes. Christmas is long gone and the list of your New Year’s resolutions is buried under a pile of things to do. You already feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do, in so little time. Stop and spend a few minutes reading these ideas to help take your productivity to a new level – simply, in just a short time each day.
1. Get in Early to Work
While it may be tempting to hit snooze two more times, getting into the office earlier is one way to boost your productivity and it also pays off in other key ways. You start the day when no one else is around, meaning you have fewer distractions. You’ll already be in your working zone by the time others get there, meaning you are less likely to hang around drinking coffee for 30 minutes while starting up your computer. And you can leave early – beat the rush hour traffic and arrive home more chilled.
2. Accomplish Key Goals…
…and only then can you spend time working on smaller things. Make sure that your key goals are important and meaningful. Spending time working on them should inspire you and make you want to work harder.
3. Shut Down Social Media
Did you realise how much time you spend surfing through posts and making tiny comments when you have Facebook open all day? Yes, you need to stay ahead with social media both personally and for business reasons, but limiting your social media time to certain moments in the day ensures you don’t end up wasting hours each day, says The Corporate Toolbox.
4. Work With Two Monitors
If you can afford it (or your boss can afford it) then double up – work with two monitors to cut down the time you have to switch between countless windows. You have twice the space for documents, reference materials, and drafts. Two monitors are definitely better than one.
5. Try the Two Minute Rule
If something pops into your inbox that you can deal with in two minutes or less, complete it. You should aim to keep your list of things to do to a minimum to prevent getting overwhelmed. However, keep in mind that you may need to limit your email checking to certain times of the day to make sure that the “two minutes” don’t take over.
6. Carry Paperwork
A simple trick, but carrying a stack of paperwork or printed emails as you go into a meeting signals you are not there to chat and waste time but you have things to do. Better still; make the paperwork something you can actually act on in the spare moments you have waiting for the rest of the meeting to show up.
7. Combat Indecision – Toss a Coin
Sometimes you can be so paralysed by making a decision that you never start working on a project until it is too late. Don’t dawdle and waste time thinking things over incessantly – toss a coin. You don’t have to go with what the coin says. In fact, if you “cheat” then this shows you what you really want to do about the decision.
Leave a Reply