Regardless of the size of your organization or your position, it’s a reality in today’s workplace that your job will probably require you to wear many hats and to work smarter, not harder. You may find yourself responsible for multiple departments or teams in several different locations.
That’s why it’s more critical than ever that you master the skills of organization, productivity, and time management and it starts with finding ways to maximize your daily productivity.
5 Tips to Help You be as Efficient as Possible
Plan Your Day in Advance
Carve out 15 to 30 minutes of each day to plan how you’ll spend your time – and make it a part of your daily routine. For some, this happens best first thing in the morning. If you have a lot of early morning meetings and arriving in advance of those isn’t realistic, the evening could be your best option.
Simply write down the work-related and personal things that need to be accomplished in the day ahead. Prioritize them so you know what to focus on first. You’ll find this daily habit will lighten your stress, and help you efficiently tackle the challenges of the day.
Set Priorities
Planning your day involves setting priorities. That’s because effectively managing your time throughout your day requires making a clear distinction between what’s simply important versus what’s truly urgent. Important tasks are tasks that need to be completed. However, they may not have a specific deadline.
Urgent tasks have a deadline and need to be done – no excuses! So, remember that all-important tasks are not urgent tasks. Take care of the urgent tasks right away. Then, rank the remaining tasks in terms of their importance so that you don’t neglect them.
Don’t Get Stuck in Meetings
When checking your “to do” list each morning, be aware of how many meetings you’re scheduled to attend. While some are certainly important, others may not be.
Minimize the amount of people at a meeting and ensure you’re not wasting your time or the time of anyone else by attending or holding meetings that aren’t necessary. If you’re on the invite list for a meeting that isn’t relevant to your work, don’t attend. Many people fail at this and spend the majority of their day in meetings instead of completing tasks.
Step Back from Email
Checking your emails can be intrusive if you do it compulsively throughout the day. If you get lots of email, try checking it every hour or half-hour. A great system for email management is if your response will take more than 3 minutes, flag it for later. If your response will take less than 30 seconds, do it now.
Keep Away from Social Media
Unless your job is to manage social media for your organization, ignore it completely. Social media can quickly disrupt your workflow. Five minutes each hour adds up to a lot of time lost. Focus instead on accomplishing your urgent tasks.
Ready to Advance Your Career?
Malone Workforce Solutions has the proven network and experience to help you find the perfect fit. Contact us today and let’s get started on finding the right position that reflects your skills.
