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No matter what you do or where you work – there’s always room to improve your efficiency. A cup of coffee may give you a short mental boost, but to reach peak efficiency levels, you need to implement longer-term strategies. You need to adopt the right mindset and have the proper tools in place to get a lot done each day. Make your working day more efficient with these four simple tips.
Make the most of your first hour
Begin every morning as you mean to go on. It’s imperative you set the standard for your efficiency in the first hour after waking up in the morning. Avoid the snooze button on your alarm and don’t even think about checking your emails. Spend the first hour of your day doing a meaningful activity. Mo Gawdat, chief business officer at Google, says he has spent the first hour of his day for the past 30 years learning about a new topic. “I invest in the fitness of my brain before going to the gym. I don't read news or fiction; I choose a focus and read about it until I've mastered it.”
Taking a moment to yourself and getting your brain ready for the day ahead is crucial for your workplace efficiency. You could also start the morning with exercise or meditation. You could even create a list of what needs to be accomplished before the end of the day. Making a list will clarify the most important tasks at work, enabling you to dive in straight away. These meaningful activities will clear your mind and help you concentrate.
Streamline internet browsing
Your web browser plays an important role in the efficiency of your day. There’s nothing more annoying than slow internet speed or when your computer crashes. But you can customise your internet browser to increase efficiency. If you’re using Google Chrome, you can download extensions to accomplish particular tasks. For example, LastPass is an extension that secures all your passwords. It enables you to use your passwords for each account without the risk of forgetting them. The average person has 19 passwords, so LastPass can save you a lot of time. There are hundreds of extensions and apps to maximise your efficiency.
Be a single-tasker
You’re speaking to a client on the phone, emails are popping up on your computer screen and your colleague needs your assistance. We’ve all been there. Juggling multiple jobs at once can feel like a challenge only geniuses can overcome. But the truth is our brains aren’t programmed to multi-task. James Rouse, a naturopathic doctor and author of Think Eat More Thrive has said we finish 50 percent less when attempting to tackle a few duties at once. To do more in less time, group tasks in categories and do them all together in one block. Multi-tasking can cause you to feel scattered while single-tasking enables you to feel focused and dedicated to one thing at a time.
Automate or delegate where possible
Are you biting off more than you can chew? Do everything you can to avoid trivial tasks that slow down your work flow. You should handle all core responsibilities and more mundane, time-consuming tasks can be given to someone else. Constantly finding yourself replying to emails only to forward them on to someone else? Or perhaps you find yourself writing the same email thanking someone for contacting your business over and over again? Automate your emails! Set up automatic responses and create templates that you can send off in a heartbeat. There are obviously many things you will have to do yourself for the sake of your job role, but a little bit of automation here and there is a good thing.
Cultivate a mindful lifestyle to help you become more efficient at work. If you want to be successful, efficiency has to be the priority. It’s important you work smarter to improve your workflow. Being more efficient isn’t about rushing through tasks in a frenzy. It’s about being intelligent with your time. In the digital world, everyone is looking for ways to do things faster on the job. Employ the above tips to help you get started.
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