There is only a certain amount of time during the day to finish tasks but no matter what we do, it seems that time is never enough. Sometimes at the end of the day, we accomplish nothing and feel unproductive. But maybe, the reason for it is not the time. It is because we are using our time inefficiently. Therefore, in order to spend the day more meaningfully and achieve goals, stay away from below.
Avoid These Time Wasters at Work
Social Media
Social media can kill your productivity at work, unless you are responsible running your company’s social media accounts. Social media is very useful if you want to network, connect with old friends or follow the recent trends but if you don’t have a purpose and just want some gossip about the people you know, then social media is a big time waster. If you want to look at your personal social media accounts, do it on your coffee or lunch break or on your commute with public transportation.
Meetings
Last minute meetings or meetings without agendas can be big time wasters and prevent you doing your real work. Think about the meetings you have attended during the week. How many of them were really necessary? Probably only a few. Therefore, you need to learn to say “No” to unnecessary meetings and focus on your real tasks that need to be finished. Also, you can solve some of the problems with a quick phone call or group chat; you don’t need a meeting for every single problem.
Emails
The email message that is popping up on your computer screen can create urgency for many to check their inboxes constantly. Checking your emails frequently can make you waste your time, since you need to refocus on the task that you have been working on. Unless you are truly waiting for an important email, you should schedule specific times to check your emails such as in the morning, after lunch and in the afternoon. The same holds for your smart phone messages and voicemail as well.
Multitasking
Interesting but yes, multitasking kills productivity. Let’s look at the situation with an example. If you are working on your emails at the same time you are working on your real work, then it will take you more time to complete both of them compared to working on them one-by-one. As a result, you will waste your time. The reason of this is that multi-tasking divides your attention between tasks and since each task gets less attention, you need more time to finish them. Work on one task at a time and move on to the next one when you are done.
Republished by permission. Original here.
Wasted Time Photo via Shutterstock
All good points. I’ve found plenty of benefit from blocking out a larger portion of time and focusing that time on one client/task. It’s amazing what you can do.