According to a recent study, 61% of adults wish they were more productive at work. After all, there are many benefits associated with working productively, whether that relates to meeting quarterly targets and deadlines or simply impressing your superiors by performing well at work.
With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to become more productive at work.
Write down daily to-do lists.
Sometimes, simply knowing that you have a million tasks to complete in a single day is enough to drive you toward distraction. Alternatively, you may become so preoccupied with multi-tasking that you are unable to manage your time effectively, meaning that you do not get anything done.
Starting your day by writing out a quick to-do list can help to remedy this. It provides you with a sense of structure that allows you to properly divide up your time among tasks, ensuring that you do not miss any deadlines.
Set up an ad blocker.
Whether you’re looking for information online, or updating your website, being inundated with ads and popups can be both distracting and time-consuming. However, installing the best ad blocker for Safari (or your choice of search engine) can remedy this, ensuring that you can work online without distractions.
Give yourself a break.
Burnout is a major productivity killer. It impacts your ability to make smart, rational decisions, meaning that routine tasks that you could usually complete within minutes could take up hours of your time. It could also mean that you are more prone to stress and anxiety, which can derail your focus even further.
Therefore, ensuring that you give yourself a break when you need one is a great way to bolster your productivity. For example, studies have found that we should take a 5-10-minute break every hour.
However, you should also ensure that you make the most of your free time, too. That is, you should not bring work home with you. Use your evenings for yourself and yourself alone – whether that’s by making time for your hobbies, or through spending time with your loved ones.
Listen to instrumental music.
Various studies have found that music, especially classical or instrumental songs, can positively impact our productivity rates. For example, a bit of background music can “increase the speed and accuracy of tasks, especially repetitive ones.” As such, if you’re finding it hard to work efficiently, try curating a work playlist.
Hold yourself accountable.
Holding yourself accountable is another excellent way to ensure that you are working productively. For example, if you know that you tend to spend too much time chatting with colleagues each time you engage in a conversation, try to sit separately when you know you’ve got a lot of work to get through. In a busy office, use noise-cancelling headphones to create an environment that is more conducive to distraction-free working, so that you aren’t tempted to listen in, or get involved in conversations with others.
Tabletop gamer since a young age, Warhammer addict and experienced coffee drinker!