14 Work Hacks To Check Out For 2020!
Most of us begin each year with objectives and desires to accomplish. With proper planning and objectives, you are able to save time and prevent failure. We all do not want to fail but when you do not plan, you are simply planning to fail. In this article, there are clearly discussed ways that can help you achieve your desires and have you achieve your goals this year.
Working from home
There is a wrong notion that working from home reduces productivity. Research has proven that this is not true and working from home actually increases productivity by up to 13%. This is contributed to by the fact that working from homes reduces days off and working from home isolation increases productivity. You may consider working from home two days a week and see how that impacts your work.
Identify tasks that use up too much time
It is likely that you are spending too much time than needed on tasks. If you set time to complete a task within an hour, focus on achieving that since if you simply let such a task take longer, it will definitely take longer. Track your time to see how much time you would require to complete each task and stick to set timelines. You could achieve this by tracking time manually or by using online tracking methods. With good tracking, you are able to schedule your time well and allocate each task the correct timing and have you completing tasks much faster. This way you save on time and are more productive.
Have a working schedule
A working day has about hours and so as to ensure you remain productive this entire time, it is important that you schedule all your tasks. Have a calendar of all your work so that you know which task needs to be handled next. You will otherwise use up so much time deciding on which task to handle next after the other. It is also important to stick to a planned schedule, if a task takes two hours, use no more. That way, your schedule is effective and helps you to achieve. This also helps you to be self-disciplined.
Prioritize your tasks
Having a random schedule is not enough and it would make more impact if you ensure that you are doing the right tasks at the right time. Therefore, have a well-structured system that enables you to prioritize your work. Prioritize tasks in regard to those that give you the best returns of invested time. For instance if you happen to work as a sales person, you should prioritize tasks that bring in more sales and opportunities. Clearly label tasks as high priority and low priority. This will eventually make you more productive not only at work but also in life.
Figure out what time you’re most productive
Daily routine determines your productivity. Therefore, plan your day according to your personal pace. Place high priority work at a time when your brain is most active and when your body is well relaxed to work. Low priority work can be done at other times. Simpler tasks should be done when you are a bit worn out as they do not take up much of your energy.
Have very clear goals (short term and long term)
You may have great tips to help you achieve and be properly equipped for success. However, do you even have a clear goal of what you want? What exactly are you working to achieve? It is much easier to achieve when you know what you want.
Have short term goals as well as long term ones. Long term goals are what you want to achieve over a long period of time, they are big goals. You should have goals to be achieved weekly, monthly and so on. Short term goals keep you highly motivated unlike long term goals. Achieving often is very motivating and with this you feel fulfilled. Short term goals lead you eventually to achieving your long term goals.
Step up as a productive person
Train your mind to be very productive. Rely on your work to activate your mind to deliver good results. Mindset is what separates successful people from the rest. You are what you think and what you believe in so work on having a clear and positive mindset. Visualize what you want to achieve and set your mind to it. Let your mind walk with you and this way, you remain fully focused. Your mind and your emotions play a huge role in your success. Obstacles are inevitable in your journey of success so have a resilient mind and spirit.
Learn to say No
At work, there are always many distractions. Interruptions happen every now and then and it is important to know how to go about maintaining focus no matter the distractions. When coworkers interrupt you seeking help, be quick to respond to them so that they move on. If you are not in a position to help them, be clear about it, it does not hurt to say no if it helps you stick to your schedule and meet your deadlines.
Emails are a key distraction for many. You could set aside some time in your schedule for you to respond to emails.
This way you save so much time that can best be used for other tasks. With this, you ensure to keep your schedule off any unnecessary distractions.
Network more
Networking makes you meet people and learn from them. If you are employed, meet people who are in your career path and professionals who you may view as mentors and who you admire.
To grow and achieve, it is good to share ideas with others and not work as an island. When you share with other professionals and colleagues, you learn new things that help you in achieving and planning better. Today, you can meet people physically or even online. Online networking is easy as it is quick to access and very informative actually so we all have no excuse for not networking. You can also register to attend conferences and events relevant to what you do or those that you feel will help you learn.
Productive meetings
Meetings tend to waste so much time in any workplace. Only hold meetings when it is very important and not randomly or as per routine as the meetings take so much time mainly discussing unnecessary stuff that would have been sent as memo instead.
Manage your energy with a to-do list coding system
Your energy mostly doesn’t remain the same throughout the entire day. Maybe you are the type that gets so active once you grab a cup of coffee or are very active until the afternoon.
Being productive involves much more than time management. It also involves managing your energy by scheduling difficult tasks when you are fully energized and the less priority when you feel drained.
After you create your to-do list, use a simple coding system to clearly show where each task falls on your energy routine. You can create or select the signs that work best for you. For example, use a star sign to indicate the tough and demanding tasks and dot signs to indicate the things that are not so much of a priority.
Keep your focus with some simple body language cues
Various factors are distracted at work and this leads you to react in different ways. Sometimes you want to be harsh to colleagues or meet up with coworkers and are tempted to indulge in a chat. You can use body language to communicate to your coworkers that you are in a working mood and not having to communicate that by mouth. If you love music for instance, you could put on your head phones at work when you are working on serious work and do not want to be distracted. When a colleague walks to you for assistance again and they find you working on your laptop or desktop and you do not want to be distracted, maintain your hands on the keyboard and this will communicate to them that you are busy.
Silencing notifications
Not only people can be destructive. Phone and email notifications are also quite destructive. Having set out a specific time to check emails and other social media platforms, messages and so on, helps to reduce notification distractions and keeps you focused on your work. Most digital notifications are not work related and with that, you have nothing to lose by silencing them for a while.
Make time for yourself by scheduling self-care
There cannot be success without you. You need to be fully present so as to achieve and for you to be fully present means that you are physically, emotionally and psychologically fit to work. Ensure you enjoy working and are having fun while delivering good results.
Invest in yourself and treat yourself to ensure you are always feeling great about yourself. Treat yourself during free time by going out for ice-cream, pizza, coffee. Go for swimming or enroll at a good gym for proper wellness and growth. Avoid getting drained and exhausted and when work makes you feel that way, take time to relax and refresh.
Also take time to learn and acquire more knowledge and skills. This allows you to develop your mind and widen your expertise for your own good. Go attend that class and enroll for that course you always wanted to take.
Do not shy away from growing and learning more. Your work is definitely a clear reflection of who you are, so take personal interest in your personal growth as it also shows that you are responsible. You cannot be responsible in work if you cannot take full responsibility over yourself.
Also, surround yourself with positive people. The type of people you surround yourself with can greatly impact your success. This can very well enhance your chance to succeed and enable you to think bigger and be more creative.Positive people help you to maintain a positive mentality and with this, you can certainly hope for success.
Patience in any profession is also crucial so stick to being positive even when things are not going right since being patient is good for you and for your success. When you react to every failure, you will become angry, bitter and will most likely end up suffering from burnout or from stress.
This is not what you want because of a simple work setback. Take time and cool off in case of a failure and then get back to it. Success is very sweet but hard work the necessary sweat for success.
Conclusion
For you to do well at work you have to love what you do. If you haven’t found yet what you love, then you should keep looking because when you stick to that job that you do not love, it not only drains you but is a waste of your energy and time as it is not part of your goals.
We all definitely want to succeed in life and in career.
With the current tough and ever changing economic times, it is not easy to succeed and strike a balance between work and life. When you set up plans to achieve and not work towards achieving them, it is equal to not having any success plans anyway. Be the type of person who has their dreams as a driving force. One who wakes up thinking of what they want and then purpose to live that day to achieve what they set out to achieve.
Success is a combination of hard work and other key aspects. It is not enough to have a dream and be an expert. There are many people who go to school, get good grades and live a life that is not very successful while there are those who don’t get excellent grades but end up managing and even owning great businesses. It is all about planning and then actually implementing your plan.
Originally published at https://www.howsitlike.com.
