You walk into work every day with the best of intentions to have a productive day or maybe you work from home and you’ve tried to get an early start…you woke up, worked out, you have a coffee in hand and you’re ready to tackle the day!  But, somewhere along the line, you get distracted…or bored…or busy and before you know it, you’ve lost track of time and you still have a pile of work that you haven’t even started. Sound familiar? You’re certainly not alone GF’s! In fact, productivity is a problem for many people in the workplace for a variety of reasons. On average, 60% or less of the time most people spend at work is actually productive!

So, what can you do to be more productive on the job and streamline your business into success? 

Do the Most When You’re at Your Best
Are you a morning person? Then, you might benefit from getting to the office early and tackling as much as possible – maybe even before others get there! Do you work best in the evenings? Create a schedule (where practical and possible) that utilises the time when your energy is highest.

We all feel our best at different times during the day. Some people simply can’t seem to function as well in the morning, so the reality is, it’s unlikely they’re going to get a lot done. Others need to unwind and relax in the evening, so they can’t even think about work! Some totally zone out in the afternoon and would rather go down a YouTube black hole than send another email. 

Find the times of day where you feel most energized and motivated and use those opportunities to get as much done as possible. Make your workload adapt to you (as long as you’re meeting deadlines, of course!), and it won’t feel so daunting. 

Don’t Switch Tasks
You might feel like you’re getting more done when you’re multitasking, but that isn’t always true. When you work on more than one thing at a time, you’re more likely to get distracted, lose motivation on one of the projects and you may not be able to give each thing the attention it deserves. Multitasking is also an easy way to feel overwhelmed very quickly. You can increase your productivity by focusing on one thing at a time, giving it your full attention, then moving onto the next. 

Get Rid of Distractions
Our world is filled with distractions, perhaps more than ever before. Between social media, smartphones, colleagues popping in at any moment, and everything in between, you can easily get distracted dozens of times each day. Just think about how that impacts your productivity. Each time you have to get back to work after being distracted, it takes a while to remember what you were doing and to get back into the “flow” of things – over 23 minutes, to be exact. You may not be able to get rid of distractions completely, but do what you can to eliminate them as much as possible. Turn off your phone or hide it so you won’t be tempted to use it. Exit out of browser tabs on your computer and only have important programs up, like https://www.templafy.com/ for document templates, or Grammarly for checking those documents. Block out ‘quiet focus’ times and even close your door to avoid being distracted by what’s going on in the office in you can!

Being more productive does take some discipline, but it’s not impossible. Try these tips to kick start your productivity each day and you might just be amazed at how much more you can get done ladies by working smarter, not harder.

TDP x