If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t seem to get any work done, and you are keen on knowing what you’ve done wrong, then you should totally check this out. Moving on, we would be shedding light on things to do to keep your work flow, well…flowing along nicely. Knowing where and what exactly you’re getting wrong is only half the problem solved. You’ve got to really put in the work to bring your rate of productivity and efficiency back on track.
Don’t be afraid to say no
Taking on more workload than we can handle is a major reason we find ourselves getting in over our heads. This is mainly a result of the ever-present eagerness-to-please attitude. Overloading your schedule with more work than you can handle just to appear hardworking is basically shooting yourself in the foot if you can’t find a way to get them done. This leads to missed deadlines, increased stress and so the vicious cycle continues. Sometimes there’s really no shame in saying no.
Give yourself a break
All work and no play makes jack a dull boy, right? We all must have half-heartedly chanted this sometime, but taking time out after a long stretch of hard work is quite essential to keeping you refreshed and reducing the risk of a burnout. Take a small walk, kick off the shoes, treat yourself to a snack, listen to some good music because after all that work, you’ve earned it. After a taking the much needed break, you would be relaxed enough to kick back in and get some more work done.
Make the most of your long commute
Do you live in a commercial city? Do you spend hours daily commuting to (and from) work? Hours that could literally be used for more productive purposes. Well, those precious times need not be wasted anymore. You can make the most of that time by using them to schedule and map out your daily activities, place calls or get a book you’ve been meaning to read. You can opt-in for a podcast version or subscribe to popular industry podcasts and listen to them during traffic.
Do scheduling instead of to-do’s
Instead of setting a long list of ever growing to-do’s that can easily be pushed aside why not tread the scheduling path. Make a game plan by scheduling your tasks ahead of you. Attach specific timelines or deadlines to these tasks and ensure they are realistic enough to be accomplished.
Adopt the 2-minute rule
Procrastination is a heavy productivity killer, having you postpone things that could be done now till a later time. One way to proactively overcome it is by adopting the 2-minute rule. If it can be done in roughly two minutes then do it now. This helps you cut down your scheduled tasks in no time, by breaking each task in two-minute bits that could be done quickly.
Focus on one task at a time
In trying to do too many things at once, we most times end up getting nothing done. Multitasking is the no.1 productivity killer, reducing productivity by up to 40% according to psychologists and should be churned. Instead, focus only on one thing and get it done quickly by prioritizing your work. Hence, the more important tasks get done first.
Begin your week early
By taking a little time out just before resuming the week to map out strategies and lay out tasks to be achieved, you put in the initial effort to jump start your week for success. It might come in form of assessment of the previous week’s performance and targeting areas to be improved upon, or just by de-cluttering your desk in preparation for the Monday morning rush. The result ends the same, you create less tasks for you to be done.
Sleep
Putting the extra effort for business growth is encouraged but not at the detriment of your health. The essence of any business to create wealth for the owner, by not sleeping enough will not only put your health at risk, but also your business. According to studies, lack of sleep exacts a toll on perception and judgment and in the workplace, its effects can be seen in reduced efficiency and productivity, increased errors and accidents.
Knowing what to do is yet one more step in having a handle on your productivity and efficiency, you also have to make a conscious effort to improve on it. Have you got any other useful nugget or tip that might be useful to other business people like yourself? Reach out to us, bookmark 234Finance.com or kindly follow all of our social media pages for more business tips.
