Time Management Tips To Help Improve Productivity.
Many people know what it feels like to get to the end of the work day wishing they could turn the clock back by a couple of hours. While starting early, staying back late, working through lunch breaks and using personal time to catch up on work tasks could be a sign of a dedicated employee, it might also be an indication that some simple time management skills may be useful. Paperwork piling up on the desk, email notifications firing every few minutes and the phone constantly ringing can become overwhelming and act as distractions from other important work tasks. Try these simple time management tips below to improve productivity and help you save time at work.
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Plan Ahead
Spend a minute or two at the beginning of each day structuring and planning your schedule. Allocate the required time to achieve the tasks that are the top priorities as well as scheduling in break times, meetings and anything else that you know is likely to be a necessity. When you have a schedule to stick to you are far more likely to focus on each task in order to complete it within the given time slot.
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Chunk Your Time
One of the simplest time management tips you can implement is to group similar tasks together into ‘chunks’. This will help to limit the amount of transitional wasted time that is often used when changing tasks. Changing tasks frequently results in extra time being taken up loading up programs, sorting through paperwork and also getting into the correct mind set. Save time and improve productivity by making phone calls one after the other or preparing monthly invoices all at one time. Also avoid multitasking as much as possible. Multitasking is generally counterproductive as you are likely to complete the tasks with reduced accuracy and diminished quality.
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Switch Off
With email notifications and phone calls constantly interrupting your work time, it’s no wonder you feel like you’re not getting anywhere with your other tasks. When it is appropriate to do so, turn off email notifications and reduce phone call interruptions by diverting or leaving a call back message. Leave reply messages to notify others you are doing this then allocate a certain amount of time in your schedule for returning phone calls and checking emails. If you have an office with a door, close it. If you work in an open plan office it good to have a system in place that lets colleagues know when you don’t want to be disturbed.
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Allow Breaks
Taking regular breaks helps you to refuel and to refocus on your work tasks. Take regular breaks every two hours or so to drink some water, refuel with a healthy snack and take a brisk walk. By taking a few minutes to rejuvenate yourself you are likely to be much more efficient and productive for the hours that follow. Also use breaks to deal with any personal needs, such as paying bills and booking appointments.
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Prioritise Your Workload
Decide which work obligations are actually important to you getting your job done on time. Write your list of priorities for the day and make sure that remains your focus. Does it really need to be you that spends ten minutes watering the plants and taking orders for morning tea? When it comes to meetings, try to delegate just one person to represent the group rather than making everyone attend. To keep meetings on track and focused, schedule a finish time and be sure that all in the meeting area aware of this.
Follow these time management tips by putting your energy into the right tasks and don’t get caught up in all the little things that might distract you. By improving productivity at work you can start your day in a relaxed, orderly manner and finish your day feeling great about the fact that you are walking out the door on time. Working smarter to improve efficiency will not only improve productivity, it will reduce stress levels, make you feel more accomplished and will also increase your popularity with the boss.