Whether your workplace is an office downtown or your living room downstairs, creating a space where you can become more productive is essential to your success.
Workplace productivity is about more than output. It’s about being more efficient and accomplishing as much as possible throughout the day.
In this article, we will look at five ways to increase your productivity. Follow these simple steps and you’ll feel like a productivity rockstar when the workday is over.
1. Do One Thing at a Time
Many people pride themselves on being multitaskers. They feel accomplished when they do more than one thing at a time.
The truth is, multitasking is much less effective than people think.
The human brain really can’t do more than one thing at a time. It can switch between tasks quickly, but when you make the switch between calls, emails, projects, etc. you lose time and efficiency. You also risk making mistakes and creating more work for yourself.
Instead, experts agree that “mono-tasking,” or focusing on completing one task at a time, is a better way to become more productive. People who work this way report making fewer mistakes and accomplishing more each day.
2. Keep Fewer Things on Your List
Lists are great for organizing all your tasks and improving workplace productivity. But if your to-do list is more than a page long, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Try only to list the most important things and only the things you can reasonably accomplish today. You can always move things to a new list tomorrow.
3. Stand up for Better Workplace Productivity
There is a lot of evidence that standing desks help you improve your productivity. One study at a call center found works were 53% more productive than their seated colleagues.
Standing is also better for your health. Long periods of sitting is linked to heart disease, obesity, poor posture and back pain, and many other health conditions.
4. Get in the Huddle
Long meetings are a study in the law of diminishing returns. The longer a group of people sits in a meeting, the less work they are doing. People also tend to lose focus during long sessions, and productivity suffers.
Instead of holding marathon meetings, choose to have short huddles with your team. 10-15 minutes each morning is usually enough time to go over critical issues and assign tasks.
5. Do Not Disturb
Most computers, phones, and tablets notify you of every email, meeting request, and text message you receive during the day. Set a schedule on your devices when everything is silent so you can focus on work.
Unless your job requires you to immediately respond to an email or chat message, schedule time in your day for these distractions. You might check email each morning when you arrive at work, right after lunch, and an hour before leaving for the day.
Find a schedule that works for you and use the rest of your day to get things done.
Take Your Time
Think of increasing workplace productivity as a marathon, not a sprint. You can make small changes in your routine to create new habits over time.
You don’t have to change everything all at once. Over time, you will become more productive, efficient, and confident in your ability to accomplish more. If you need to manage everything then get a contact center.
Check out the rest of our site for more advice and insights on being your most productive self.
