We’ve all heard the saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” Well, sometimes that’s easier said than done. When you’re in the thick of to-do lists that are too long, and pressured by your boss to deliver even more, it’s hard to step back, take a breath and figure out how to work smarter.
In today’s issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we’re going to take a step away from the to-do list and share these tried-and-true tips for better time management and workplace productivity from organizational expert Tim Wilson.
1. Know your role and your goals. This seems like an obvious one, but it’s important, says Wilson, because it defines what you decide to spend your time on. It’s important to clarify your goals, whether they are individual goals or team goals, and understand what you need to do to reach these goals. This is the cornerstone of better time management in the workplace and it’s crucial if you want to be productive at work.
2. Get a good morning start. Plan a realistic “pre-work routine” that ensures you get to work as early as possible. Your routine may (actually, should) start the night before by deciding on your clothes and gathering your car keys, phone and work bag. This could save you from short bursts of stress in the morning and set the tone for a more calm start to the day.
3. Clear the desk clutter. If you’re not doing so already, learn how to get organized today. Even if it means just 10 minutes per day, work daily on clearing the clutter until you get to the point where you know what goes where. Eventually you’ll no longer have a messy desk. Even if you become just slightly more organized, the payoff in terms of time saved will be significant.
4. Put a limit on the to-do list. I’m a victim of this one. I write to-do lists and continue to add to the list until it grows beyond reasonable tasks. The result? Things are done based on urgency. Important but not urgent things get put off until they become urgent. And so the cycle of stress continues.
Wilson says that one way to prevent this is to set a limit on your to-do list. Here’s how:
Collect all work for one day (for example, Monday). As the day goes on, put everything that doesn’t have to be done today in a single “next day” tray or Outlook folder.
At the end of Monday, write down every one-off task you have to do tomorrow (Tuesday). Transfer the paper, reports, memos, emails etc. from your “next day” tray to a “today” tray or Outlook folder. Then write down any actions stemming from voicemail or email requests.
Add your regular actions that you want to do daily to this list.
That is the limit of your work for today. Using this method you know exactly what the limit of one day’s work is. Leave some “buffer time,” because “urgent” tasks will crop up, and you’ll be managing interruptions throughout the day. That’s okay though, because you’ve reduced the random distractions—you planned for it.
5. Think little and often. When you have a huge list or inbox full of emails, it’s easy to pick and choose what you want to work on—usually the stuff you like or the projects that are easy to tackle. Right? Well, that’s where procrastination creeps in. Avoid procrastinating on those larger projects by working on them a little bit each and every day. Pretty soon, you’ll be tackling the big stuff on your list too.
Stick to a schedule. Go home as close to the same time as possible every day. Face the reality that work will always be there. There will always be items on the list. If they don’t get done, add them to your “next day” actions until they are completed. Include “plan the next day” as an action item on your to-do list.
Source: Tim Wilson is a time management expert and blogger who shares his insights and tips on his website: time-management-success.com.