We all start our day with renewed energy and vigor, wanting to finish every task on our to-do-list. Correct? But, often, by the end of the day, that to-do-list seems even longer. Influenced by a variety of things, being productive at work may carry multiple meanings for different people. For some, it is achieving more in shorter periods of time. For others, it is the feeling of accomplishment at having completed a task in an hour, as opposed to three, while ensuring that the quality remains top notch. If the quality is the same in both cases, irrespective of the meaning it may carry, higher productivity more often than not equals happiness.
Meanwhile, here is something else that might help you as well: 5 Ways to Beat Procrastination Once and for All
To find that daily dose of increased happiness, incorporate these tips to effectively structure your time, increase productivity and work smarter.
1. Prioritise critical jobs for the day
You may have written down a long list of tasks for yourself, but among these, there must be some that absolutely needed to be completed during the day. Maintain a weekly spreadsheet and list your top three tasks for each day. This will help you plan better and ensure that you’re maintaining focus on the most important tasks. Also, end your work week by preparing next week’s calendar; being proactive will always help you to stay ahead.
2. Avoid multitasking
There are times when the tasks given to us may seem small or easy, and we end up taking on more than we can handle. But the fact is it doesn’t work. As per Earl K. Miller, a neuroscience professor at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ‘multitasking is not humanly possible.’ Hence, concentrate on one task at a time, and this way you will end up completing it faster.
On a similar note, read this: How to Cope with Working Overtime
3. Bring in more efficiency with the help of these tools
You are living in an age of smartphones and fast-paced technological advancements. Why not use this to your advantage? There are several tools that can help you increase productivity at work, including:
- Time Doctor’s time tracking software runs in the background of your computer. It notifies you when you begin to spend too much time on recreational sites and gives you a friendly reminder to get back on track.
- Boomerang is an app that works with your Gmail to help you take control of your inbox. The key feature of this tool is the ability to schedule the exact date and time to send out an email.
- RescueTime, running in the background of your computer, is a tool that lets you know how much time you are spending on important versus non-important things through your day. It does this by tracking the time you spend on applications and websites.
- Evernote, a digital notepad, syncs with the cloud so that you can access your notes from your computer or mobile app.
- Todoist, a to-do list chrome extension, has several features like setting deadlines, recurring project reminders and easy labeling to keep you organised.
4. Meet your team every morning
Meeting your team members every morning and going over important tasks for the day allows everyone to be on the same page and lets people know where their assistance is needed. Daily team meetings can help in strategising how to best accomplish goals and be more productive.
5. Take small breaks
Contrary to what you might think, clocking in longer hours may mean that you are getting a job done, but it also means you are headed for chronic stress and consequently, a burnout. Studies have proven that taking regular breaks helps concentration and boosts your mood. Take that lunch break, de-stress and recharge for the rest of the day.
Making your every day at work perfectly productive is not possible. Hence, instead of letting the negativity get to you, refocus your energy and implement the abovementioned tips. Very soon, you will be able to come across a way that works best for you in terms of increasing productivity at work.
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