As soon as you come back from work, write down the top 5 tasks you need to finish for the day
Write it down and every time you lose focus, look back at this list – a very powerful and effective way to close the most important tasks for the day!
Invest the time as soon as you come into work to finish the tasks that are top on your priority list
Everything else can be done later in the day. The key reason is that your concentration, focus, and energy levels tend to be the highest at the start of the day. If not, find your “zone of peak productivity” and do the most important tasks at that time. Resist the urge to respond to the latest mail in your inbox unless it is very critical!
Time Box the following activities for the day:
- Tea / Coffee and Lunch Breaks (e.g., 30 minutes at most)
- General Banter with colleagues at work (e.g., 30 minutes at most)
- Internet Time (e.g., 15 minutes at most)
Practice the “Zero Mail Hour”
Practice the “Zero Mail Hour” for at least one hour during the week. You will be pleasantly surprised by how much work will get done if your Mailbox is closed for 1 hour
For the most important things, focus on doing one thing at a time
- It gets done well
- It gets done faster
- You end up having more time to do things you want to!
There is magic in this! And though I don’t necessarily advocate this for everything at work – I mean if there are things for which you have to multi-task to get ahead, so be it! But for things which are extremely important at work, focus on doing just one thing at a time! And see the magic unfold…
Delegate the tasks that are not important to your work or your core strength
You can do only so much all the time…
“One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday’s time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply. There is no substitute for time. Everything requires time. All work takes place in, and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable and necessary resource.” – Peter Drucker
Time is your most precious asset. Learn to value and respect it!
Source: Tips To Boost Your Productivity At Work
Author: Nischala Kaushik
