5 Tips for Boosting Productivity — Wherever You’re Working From
We’ve all had that day. The to-do list appears longer when you clock off than when you started.
You’re left perplexed and frustrated, wondering where the time went. Whether you work in an office or from home, you want to get as much done as possible in the time you have. But between a meeting-packed calendar, small talk with colleagues and other distractions, that’s easier said than done.
A survey of more than 2,400 professionals in the United States found that many workers face these kinds of productivity challenges. It’s an epidemic of not getting stuff done, but one that can be cured by following these five tips.
1- Be aware of how you spend your time
The first step to is understanding your work habits. And to do that, you need to know how you actually spend your time. An excellent place to start is by keeping a time diary for a week. It can be as simple as a notepad on your desk, where you jot down start and finish times for each activity. This might sound counterintuitive — after all, it’s yet another task to complete. But tracking your day allows you to see patterns, favorable or otherwise. You might, for example, realize that you spend far more time than you thought on decluttering your inbox or notice that you hit peak productivity during certain hours of the day.Once you’ve got a good idea of where your time is going, you can adjust. Are you spending unnecessary time on tasks that could be delegated? Are there activities that you can finish more quickly? A time limit, even if it’s just one you’ve set yourself, is a powerful motivator for driving up productivity because it forces you to resist distractions.
2- Eliminate self-sabotaging habits
Even without a time diary, there are occasions when you know you could be more productive. It’s easy to go down a rabbit hole while researching a topic, and the next thing you know, an hour has gone by — and you’re off-schedule. Or perhaps you’re the sort of person who finds it hard to say “no” to yet another assignment, even if you’re already at capacity. Or maybe you procrastinate as you lose focus on the task at hand. In these cases, being aware of your pitfalls is already half the battle won. Now you need to be disciplined. When using the internet during work hours, keep reminding yourself of your objective and consider using a website blocker to help you stay focused. When you can’t take on another task, permit yourself to say “no.” To combat procrastination, set a deadline even for assignments that are open-ended.
