How To Get More Done With Your Work Time
Anyone who claims they have enough time to do everything they want to do is a liar, most of us struggle to find the time to do the things we absolutely have to do, let alone anything else.
We could all use some extra time in our weeks, especially at work, so let’s look at a few simple ways you can claw back some time from a crowded schedule.
Know Your Goals and Stay Focused On Them
The absolute best thing you can do to avoid wasting work time on frivolous tasks is to make sure you’ve got a set of clearly identified goals. You can’t meet your goals if you don’t know what they are, after all.
Decide what it is you’re aiming to achieve, and then create a series of work tasks that will allow you to stay focused on those goals.
Making sure that all of the work you spend time on is moving you closer to achieving your goals. It truly is the best thing you can possibly do to improve your productivity.
Use A List
Our brains can only hold so much information, eventually we get overwhelmed or just plain forget things. If you find yourself with a long list of tasks that you struggle to remember or prioritise, then that’s exactly what you need, a list.
Write down all of your tasks, every last one of them, preferably with larger tasks broken down into smaller subtasks. Such a breakdown might look like this:
Prepare Presentation
- Arrange room
- Invite attendees
- Write presentation
- Prepare visuals
With everything written down on a page you can now view all of your tasks at once, which will make it much easier to
prioritise where to start. Make sure to
cross out tasks when you complete them, it will give you an at a glance assessment of whether you’re keeping up with your work or falling behind.
It’s also a well known fact that crossing tasks off a list feels amazing, and that dopamine hit is a fantastic way to help you maintain momentum. This is why we recommend breaking tasks down into subtasks, being able to visualise your progress is a fantastic help with keeping up morale.
Take Breaks
One of the most important aspects of getting lots of work done is stepping away from that work. It sounds counterintuitive, but it’s true.
Taking regular breaks allows you to come back to your work with more energy, better focus, and less stress. While you spend less time working, you’ll almost certainly find that you get more done. That’s the important part, not how long you work, but how much work you complete.
Looking after yourself will also help you keep burnout at bay, making you more productive in the long run. Working without breaks is a short term solution, ongoing success requires long term planning.
We’re all busy, and we all want more time. Luckily, with just a few simple tricks, our productivity can be improved and more of our goals achieved sooner.
