Simple Steps to Be as Productive as Possible at Work - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach

Simple Steps to Be as Productive as Possible at Work - Margaret Buj - Interview Coach Productivity is essential for anyone who works. Whether you work for a company, or work for yourself, you’re going to need to prove yourself in order to be financially secure. If you slack while working for a company, you may find that you face being let go if your behaviour and efforts don’t improve. If you slack while you work for yourself, you simply won’t make any money. But productivity doesn’t come naturally to all of us. Some of us are procrastinators. Some of us are plain lazy. The good news is that you can overcome your nature and take various simple steps towards being more productive and successful in the workplace. Here are a few that you might want to consider taking! Get Sufficient Sleep Let’s start by focusing on a very simple step that many of us neglect. While you may associate your sleep time more with your personal life and free time than your work life and professional time, it can have a huge knock on effect on your productivity during the working day. We sleep in order to have the energy to get through the day, so if you’re sleep deprived, chances are you won’t be putting your best efforts in. Instead, you’ll be doing the bare minimum to get by and focusing on trying to stay awake until the end of the day when you can return home. Generally, it’s recommended that the average adult gets seven to eight hours’ worth of sleep a night. This should sufficiently rest you. So, figure out what time you need to wake up and make sure you go to bed at least eight hours before that time. If you find yourself struggling to sleep, try these few tips and tricks. Cut out coffee. Put your devices away before you get into bed. Try soothing lavender sprays for your p illows. If you have ongoing problems, you should consult a doctor about insomnia. They may be able to help you further! Make Sure You Have a Good Lunch Another factor of our working day that many of us neglect is our lunch break. We have lunch breaks for a reason. They give us some time away from our desk, allow us to gather our thoughts and mean we can fuel up rather than being distracted by rumbling stomachs and a lack of energy. So, make sure you always prepare a good lunch. This doesn’t always have to be a bog standard sandwich. Give yourself some variety and something to look forward to each day. Pastas, salads, wraps, sushi… there are all sorts of options out there that can keep you going until the end of the day! Know What’s Expected of You Of course, you can only perform as expected if you know exactly what is expected of you. It’s always a good idea to check in with your manager or boss and to request some sort of KPIs (which stands for “key performance indicator”) or targets. This will give you something to aim for and will help you to keep on track in your managers’ and boss’ eyes. It’s a good way to prove yourself and to also make sure you’re focusing on the right areas to show that you’re doing what the company needs. Schedule Your Work More often than not, you’ll probably find that you’re working on more than one project at once. On top of this, you may find that smaller projects are submitted to you along the way. Scheduling and organising your work effectively will prove to be absolutely key to your success. It’s hard to be productive when you’re not sure what you’re supposed to be focusing on. Generally speaking, it’s best to organise your work in regards to project size and deadline. Figure out how much time each day you will need to dedicate to big tasks to get them done before the deadline. Make sure to leave sufficient time in your schedule to accommodate smaller tasks that may come through. If they don’t arise, you can simply power ahead with your other work, helping to get it finished ahead of schedule. The easiest way to achieve all of this is to use the Best Free Work Schedule Maker Tools in 2020. They’re great for organisation! Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help Often, people lack productivity and fall behind because they’re struggling and can’t find a way to move forward. Don’t wallow in this situation. Instead, get yourself back on track by simply asking for help. It’s much better to swallow your pride and admit you don’t know what’s going on or you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing than to simply sit doing nothing and have to admit it in the end anyway. Simply request further information and guidance wherever necessary. Set Up Where There’s Natural Light Sure, we don’t all get much say about where we sit in an office. But where possible, try to situate yourself in a space where there’s plenty of natural light. This can significantly boost your energy levels and productivity. Why? Well, natural light regulates our bodies’ circadian rhythms. When it’s bright and light, our bodies know that it’s day time and perk us up, ready to face the tasks we need to complete through the day ahead. When we don’t have access to natural light, our bodies assume that it’s night and begin to wind down. So, the more natural light you have at work, the more productive you’re likely to be! Take Regular Breaks Sure, we have our lunch breaks. But you should take small breaks throughout the day too. Why? Well, when we sit at our desks for too long, we can quickly begin to feel sluggish and lose concentration. Taking a break gives our minds a chance to reset and can help to get us back on track. A simple tea break is generally enough! Assess Whether Meetings are Necessary Sometimes, we spend way too much time arranging and setting up meetings. Often, we spend more time in meetings discussing than we would need to actually get the work done. So, evaluate all meetings and decide whether they’re really necessary. In some instances, they will be. In others, not so much. Avoid Multitasking Sometimes multitasking at work is essential. But generally, it’s better to focus and set your mind on one project, complete it and then move on to the next thing. Generally speaking, the results from this kind of approach will prove much better than results where you’ve been paying the project attention for a few minutes here and there, on and off. Now, this may all seem a lot to take in. But this is just the start when it comes to tips and tricks that can help you to be a whole lot more productive in the workplace. You don’t have to tackle them all at once. Instead, try incorporating them into your working routine one step at a time. Over time, these things will become a habit and you’ll do them without even having to think all too much about it. They’ll make your day to day life a whole lot easier, so don’t underestimate their potential!