How to Be Productive Throughout Your Workday
Working today always seems to be “on” with the uses of smartphones, even when people are done with their workday, they can still be working at home answering emails, etc. when they should really be enjoying their time away from the office. The “always-on” work 24/7 schedules can quickly burn people out, causing them to lose motivation for their job and decrease productivity.
It’s hard to turn work off when at home, but it is essential to maintaining productivity during your workday to turn off at night and take a break. What motivates you? Finding your motivation throughout the day can help you stay productive while you work. Here are added tips to help you keep productive throughout your workday.
Don’t Start Your Day Checking Emails
Avoid responding to all emails in your inbox first thing in the morning. You can quickly lose hours by responding to emails. Set aside an hour or two during the day to focus on your emails and responses so that other jobs can get done.
Organize Your Tasks by Priority
When crafting your to-do list for the day or week, organize each task by how time-sensitive they are:
- Urgent – these are tasks that need to be completed right away ad should be scheduled first
- Urgent, but requires more work – these should come after urgent need to be completed quickly and spend more of your time on these tasks.
- Not Urgent – these tasks can be left for the end of the day, and functions that are not urgent but require time or more work can be moved to when you have more time to focus on them.
Group Similar Tasks Together
If you have a bunch of similar tasks, then group them together and get them all done at once. Grouping tasks together helps with structuring your workday and staying motivated to complete jobs. If you do all the items that can be grouped together at the same time, you can focus on the more significant projects that need to be completed, and this can help you be more productive in your workplace.
Take Break
Taking a break can help in your workday productivity. Make sure to take real breaks, where you get up and away from your desk or office. Taking frequent breaks throughout your workday helps you refresh and unwind. Moving away from your desk for 15 minutes or more can help with your productivity a lot.
Prioritize Invitations for Meetings
Having a busy calendar full of meetings does not mean you are productive during your workday. If you don’t necessarily need to attend a meeting, then decline if you have other tasks that should take priority for that week. If you feel like a meeting is a waste of your time, then you shouldn’t attend. You can attend conferences and excuse yourself when they move on to topics that don’t concern you, but also you can recommend a co-worker who might contribute to the meeting better than yourself. It is essential to prioritize invitations for sessions to help keep you focused and productive throughout your workday.
Stop Multitasking
Multitasking might not make you as productive as you think it might. The time wasted from switching from task to task can actually be detrimental to your productivity and motivation throughout the day. Keep on track by completing single tasks one by one, to help limit any of your distractions. Multitasking on a lot of projects at a time could mean you aren’t putting out the quality work you usually do because each project is not receiving 100% of your attention.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to being productive in your workday, you need to plan correctly, and take breaks as needed to help clear your head. Working through lunch does not mean you are productive. You actually can burn yourself out and lose your motivation and enthusiasm to get jobs done. This leads to turning off the emails and work when you get home. You need the break to re-energize and clear your head to tackle items and tasks for tomorrow.
