Let’s put it this way: The more efficient you are, the less overtime you’ll do. And not having to put in extra time at your office means you will have more time for other things that matter to you. Efficiency is really the key for you to be able to do best at your job. However, it takes a great degree of focus and a strong sense of productivity. It may sound difficult, but being efficient can be learned by changing some of your working habits.
Create a to-do list, and stick to it
You must learn to make a to-do list. Make a list the night before or the morning before you start with work. Keep your list short and realistic. Jot down the task that is the most urgent. Remember that this list is to be updated daily, so do not try to write everything down as this will just cause you unnecessary stress. More importantly, stick to your list.
Do your most difficult task first if possible
You must do your heaviest and biggest task in the morning. This is the time that you are most prepared, assuming that you’ve just had a great sleep. Besides, after you have done this task, you will feel that glorious feeling of achievement. This will be your motivation to make it through the day.
If your task is too big to finish in a day, imagine that it could be cut up into chunks. Assign one chunk per day and resolve to accomplish this assignment. Doing so will make it easier for you to finish the entire project.
Cut down on the office chit-chats
You might not notice, but spending time chatting with your officemates is detrimental not only to your productivity, but also to your officemates’ efficiency. Tell yourself that you always have lunch and tea breaks to talk to them. Sometimes, being overfriendly can work against your benefit.
Also, try not to take personal calls while at work, unless there is an emergency. Avoid checking and updating your personal blog or website at the office. Turn off the instant messenger, and avoid checking your personal email. You might argue that these things only take a couple of minutes, but you will be surprised to know that when you start with these things, you actually end up doing them more often than you originally preferred.
Concentrate so that you can get things done
The only way for you to get things done is to concentrate on the important things. Do not get side swept to do other things. Sometimes, multi-tasking can be a bad thing. Instead of doing a lot of things in a single instance, try to finish one task before going on to the next. Ignore sudden inklings of things that you forgot to do. List them down instead, and schedule them for another time. Shifting your attention too often produces no result. De-clutter your mind and you will find that it’s easier to do things one at a time.
Efficiency takes a lot of time and needs a lot of practice. But efficiency is a value that you can develop. You only need to finally decide to become efficient. Your determination to maximize your time for the things that actually matter will make all the difference in the world.
