Do you ever feel like work is just piling on and you’re barely keeping up with all your obligations?
If you’re looking to be more productive at your workplace, and even at home, you may want to keep on reading.
Productivity as a term often gets thrown around in business settings, but the truth is that it is applicable in every facet of our lives.
It’s measured by the amount of sales calls we make or the output of a factory’s production line over a certain period of time.
In the academic sphere of things, this would refer to the number of questions answered on a test in regard to the total number of questions.
Essentially, its output is measured by the input, but the problem is that this value isn’t always tangible, one example being the service provider industry, where self-motivation is a driving factor for productivity.
Can you be too productive?
As it turns out, there’s also a downside to working like there’s no tomorrow, and it’s often referred to as toxic productivity.
Of course, this doesn’t imply that you shouldn’t put in 100% for a day’s work, but rather, that you should also find some time to rest and enjoy the beautiful things in life.
Trends like “girl boss” and “that girl” enforce women to always be on the lookout for a new hustle, and while having it all does seem nice, turning yourself into a workaholic is the last thing your career needs.
Sooner or later you’ll feel the burnout of working on it 24/7, and at that point, you’ll want to catch a break, but with so many responsibilities and obligations piling on, you won’t have the time.
Remote work
Ever since the pandemic kicked off, a majority of the workforce shifted to a remote work setting, with most office workers trading their cubicles for the comfort of their living rooms or home offices.
However, this came with a massive downside, that being the fact that the line between work and rest slowly became blurred, and many kept going the extra mile even when it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
Being productive at work does mean that the company will benefit from it, but sometimes it’s simply not worth it if you’ll be sacrificing valuable time that you could’ve spent with your loved ones just to finish a project that could’ve waited until tomorrow.
How to be more productive
With the modern workplace being drastically different from the standard 9-5, working has also adapted, and we’ve now got access to much more flexible working schedules and itineraries.
Unfortunately, some would’ve preferred things to have stayed like they were before, and now they struggle to meet their productivity thresholds, putting both the employer and employee into an uncomfortable situation.
Thankfully, all of these issues can be solved with only some minor changes to your daily habits at work, and if you have them one at a time, you may soon notice significant changes and improvements in your productivity.
Time management is integral to staying productive, and if you’re not working on a tight schedule, you’re probably losing time on pointless activities, so make sure to optimize every minute you spend at the office or working from home.
Finally, you may want to have someone hold you accountable, as it can help boost your productivity.
The way it works is a buddy will keep track of your progress and completed tasks, and at the end of the week, you’ll both go over the goals you’ve completed and those you’re planning on working towards in the following week.
Give up multitasking
Science has already proven that the human mind isn’t actually capable of multitasking, and instead, some of us are just really good at rapidly switching between two actions.
The same applies to work, and while it does seem tempting, especially if you believe it could save you some extra time, it usually doesn’t work that way, and you may end up doing even less work than you would have had you just done things normally.
Instead, you may want to direct all your focus on one task and complete it to the best of your ability, and once you’re finished, move on to the next one.
This will ensure you’re staying productive while not sacrificing any quality of your work.
Set smaller goals
Working towards a big end goal does help from time to time, but with goals that are too big or too long-term, it’s hard to see your progress.
To help offset this, you may want to set smaller goals within your larger goals, helping you track every milestone and keeping you updated every step of the way.
On top of this, making these small victories every now and then helps keep you motivated to keep going, and that’s one of the more important things when it comes to staying productive in spite of all odds.
Instead of answering all 100 of the e-mails you’ve got piled up in your inbox, maybe try doing 4-5 at a time and reward yourself with a small snack every time you’ve completed one leg of that journey.
Do the hardest task first
Sometimes we just want to slack off, and while it can be horrible to admit, we’ve all done it at least once while working on a project or a similar task at work.
However, if we’re using some easier tasks to slack off, that means that the more important ones, and particularly the harder ones, will be pushed back, and once those pile on, we’re in a world of trouble.
This is why doing the hardest one first is somewhat of an elementary practice, and it’s worked for anyone who’s tried it.
You take on the biggest challenges while you’re fully motivated, and the sense of accomplishment, once you’ve completed them, will keep you going through the rest.
Alternatively, it may also help you relax once you’ve pushed through the hardest bit of work, allowing you to relax as you focus on the easier tasks you’ve got left.