Most people think that to move forward in their career path they need to work very hard. Then they are getting stressed out from working long hours, they feel overwhelmed, burned out and losing any work-life balance they may have had before.
Here are six tips to help your work SMARTER not harder:
1. Prioritize. By prioritizing work, you plan the order in which you’ll do things, so you can tell what needs your immediate attention, and what you can quietly forget about until much, much later. Do the most important tasks first thing in the morning; e-mail can wait until 10-11am, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical tasks.
2. Learn to Delegate. Many people delegate less than they should. Delegation will not only provide you with more time to work on your important opportunities, but you will also help others on your team learn new skills.
3. Learn to Use To-Do Lists. A written To-Do list is a simple technique that can increase your productivity by 20-25%. The key to an effective To-Do list is not the list itself, but the habit of using, adding to, and reviewing the list. To-Do list helps to ensure that priority projects get the attention they need.
4. Say ”No” if necessary. Sometimes it is much better to say ”No”, then overload yourself with work you won’t be able to finish on time. Learning to say “no” effectively and at the appropriate times is a critical skill that can move your career forward and build your professional credibility.
5. Avoid Distractions. There are so many distractions at work. If we try to avoid at least some of them we will have extra time that we always need. Do not over-communicate with your co-workers via instant messaging and online chat. Do not check e-mail every 10-15 minutes. Don’t pick up your phone during focus times. Your caller has an opportunity to leave a voice message and you can call back at a more convenient time. Stop eating and drinking while you work. Instead, save those activities for breaks between projects.
6. Beware of Perfectionism. It’s better to have completed your task list to a good level rather than completed half of it perfectly. I’ve heard people say: “I am much happier since I stopped being a perfectionist; and I actually achieve more with less effort, since now I can do five things in the time I used to do only one.” Sometimes people put on a whole bunch of other expectations to things instead of doing only what were required.
Learn how to work smarter not harder and you become a productivity genius, decrease your work stress, get more done, be valued by your boss, It will also help you to live a happier and healthier life.
My favorite quote is "Don't confuse efforts with results". Your six points are valid for most individual productivity improvement efforts. My favorite book right now gives a clear picture for Collaboration, which also describes individual and corporate productivity strategies and execution- Creating a Collaborative Enterprise- How to Retool Your Organization to Dominate Your Markets-(www.creatingacollaborativeente...)
