Most of us kickstart our day by making a mental note of things and targets we’ve set out-to achieve for that day. To achieve those targets, we prepare planners, journals, to-do lists and lots of the things that can help us complete the tasks planned. But as the day progresses, we often end up doing very few or sometimes none of the assignments. Well, that’s where ‘Productivity’ comes to play.
We all have the same amount of time in a day, no matter how successful or wealthy one is — we are all capped at 24 hours per day. So, how does one make the best of those 24 hours? Well, the answer is by Working Smarter — not harder.
We share with you five tips and tricks that can help you increase your output tremendously.
1) Set self-imposed deadlines
A manageable level of self-imposed deadline can help you get loads of work done. For open-ended tasks or projects, try giving yourself a deadline, and then stick to it. Working against the clock can do wonders.
2) Delegate Efficiently
We all need help and none of can work in complete isolation. Always delegate parts of a big task and trust your colleagues in helping you complete work. Make sure give your colleague all of the resources that he or she needs to reach the best deliverable.
3) Be proactive, not reactive
Allowing incoming phone calls and emails to dictate how you spend your day will mean you do a great job of putting out fires–but that may be all you get accomplished. During work hours, turn off your notifications, and instead build in time to check email and messages.
4) Follow the “two-minute rule”
Entrepreneur Steve Olenski recommends implementing the “two-minute rule” to make the most of small windows of time that you have at work. The idea is this: If you see a task or action that you know can be done in two minutes or less, do it immediately. According to Olenski, completing the task right away actually takes less time than having to get back to it later.
5) Take advantage of your commute
Make most the unexpected “bonus” time you may find on your hands. Instead of Candy-Crushing or Facebooking, use that time to pound out some emails, create your daily to-do list, or do some brainstorming.