Are you busy being unproductive?
Do you feel like the hours are passing like minutes, emails flying in and out of your inbox, yet you still feel like you haven’t achieved anything?
It’s easy to feel constantly busy at work and yet lack productivity, so let’s look at some tips on how to maximise your productivity in the work place.
Plan your day
Although we know a day rarely ever goes completely to plan, if you make a conscious effort to create an action plan for the day and attempt to stick to it, you will not only feel satisfaction every time you can cross a completed task to tick off your list. This will make you will feel organised and focused on the job at hand, which in turn will make you more productive.
Don’t delay
Let’s be honest, we don’t all love EVERY aspect of our jobs and sometimes there are tasks we like to put off. However, save yourself the prolonged dread of knowing you still must complete that one job! If you focus on your hardest task first, once completed, you’ve reduced your workload of the trickier, more time-consuming task and your mind will feel lighter and more focused to complete the smaller tasks.
Don’t give yourself unachievable goals
Don’t over plan or attempt to over multi-task, there are only so many hours in the day and although deadlines need to be met, you should be realistic about how much and how quickly you can achieve your goals. This isn’t a negative note, overworking yourself and trying to focus on too many things at once can lead to tasks not being completed to the best of your ability or worst-case scenario not at all! If your realistic about your deadlines and goals this will help you prioritise your workload and will give your day a new sense of direction.
Give yourself a break
The emails might be stacking up, the phone may be ringing, but sometimes you just need to step away from your desk take a breath, drink a coffee and refocus your mind before getting back to it. Research shows taking regular short breaks can actually increase productivity rather than reduce it.
Work during working hours
Every now and again we all need to complete work tasks out of hours. Especially in an industry like recruitment, you often need to speak to a client or candidate in the evening or first thing in the morning, it’s all part of the job. However, that doesn’t mean you should be giving yourself epic tasks to achieve at 9pm from your kitchen table after working a 10 hour day. Work life balance also contributes to your productivity. You have to allow yourself social and leisure time too. Allowing yourself an evening off, completing a hobby and spending time with family and friends will mean you focus more on your work during work hours.
Enjoy it
Lastly ensure you’re in a job that you enjoy and that challenges and stimulates your mind. If you’re not inspired or challenged in your job role, or it doesn’t suit your skill set, your mind is more likely to wonder to other non-work-related things and you’re less likely to succeed.
If you would like to have an informal discussion, please contact Amy Bradford here about the roles we are currently working on.
Edited by Red Squirrel Digital.
