While checking out, do you get the feeling that you were not able to accomplish everything that
you planned at the beginning of your shift? If yes, then don’t worry, you are not in this situation
alone. Staying productive throughout the working hours can be a challenge for many people;
however, with a few tips, you can get yourself back on track with hitting your targets. The article
entails a few tips that can prove to be handy for improving your productivity at work.
Plan your Day in Advance:
“Failing to plan is planning to fail”. It is good practice to plan your workday in advance. When
you check-in, take your time in planning out the next day in advance. Don’t forget to reserve the
most tedious work for the day for the time you are the most active so that that you don’t have to
face the monster when you are not in form.
Leverage Google Calendar and Trello
It is important to leverage tools like Google Calendar and Trello to plan and organize your day.
Blocking time with Google Calendar for daily tasks is a great way of getting reminders about
upcoming tasks, keeping a check on time allocated to each task, and is also handy for your
supervisor in reaching out to you for meetings in your free time.
Trello, on the other hand, is a good way to organize and prioritize projects. Setting up boards
and cards come as a great help in keeping a track of tasks/projects for their timely completion.
Remember to use Trello for enabling greater team communication and coordination. Simply add
your team members on relevant boards/cards so that everyone in the team is on the same page
as far as work progress is concerned and relevant resources are shared with the relevant
people.
Keep track of the Time Spent on Individual Tasks
Often, we end up spending a lot of time on a few tasks that we dedicate less time to other
ones. It is important to spend time on each task as per the task priority. Make sure that the time
worked for each task does not exceed the time dedicated for it on the respective work block so
that time dedicated for other tasks is not compromised.
Avoid Multitasking
A lot of people believe that multitasking would save time. Though it might work for some people
it’s not necessary that it would work for you and you would actually end up wasting time in
an attempt of saving some. When working on multiple things at a time, we often are not able to
do justice with each and every task. Therefore, it is important to dedicate your time and energy
to one task at a time.
Take Notes in Meetings
No matter how strong we claim our memory to be, we shouldn’t take chances when attending
work-related meetings. Just do not let any important detail slip out, it is important to take notes in every meeting. Web applications like Google Keep can be leveraged to make notes.
Remember, it is equally important to comprehend what your supervisor is trying to convey
before you take notes, so ask questions to clear out on things you might not have understood or
missed out on.
Take Regular Breaks
Working without breaks is a big no-no if you are looking to spend a productive day at work. At
the end of the day, we are humans and we require periodic breaks to keep ongoing. While it
may vary from person to person but taking a 10-minute break after working 50 minutes straight
can prove to be a productivity booster. Remember not to treat your typical day at work as a
sprint, otherwise, you will end up exhausted and would fall short as far as your anticipated
performance is concerned.