From ReadWrite:
What is the one thing that connects millions of workers around the world? It is the desire to have more productivity at work, work fewer hours, and stay on top of all projects. But is this wish truly attainable? Productivity at work — it is possible.
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Ironically, working long hours does not increase workplace productivity. As a matter of fact, it can totally backfire and make you less efficient, due to stress, fatigue, and other factors. Moreover, it can negatively affect your physical health. It has been recorded that the risk of heart disease increases markedly by 67% for people who work long hours compared to people who work the standard 7-8 hours a day.
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1. Create a to-do list to improve productivity at work
Lists help give you a plan for what needs to be accomplished and increases your productivity in the workplace. You could also have one for the week or even the month from which you pull daily tasks. There can be few work-related things more satisfying than checking off a long time item off your list.
You can even take this to the next level by blocking out time each morning to review and add/remove from your to-do list. You will find that it will quickly become a part of your routine and will increase your productivity at work with a more focused view of the day.
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2. Start with a tough task
If you have 15 things on your to-do list for the day, consider starting with a hard task. While it might seem unpleasant, it’s often easier than trying to tackle it later in the day once you’re tired. When doing this, your day is already successful and productive once that hard task is complete.
Stephen Covey called this your “big rocks.” It is not only easier to tackle them earlier in the day, but it will also help you to feel success and build momentum towards a full day of being productive at work. Even if you don’t get other things on your list done, you still know you were productive and finished something Important.
3. Don’t be afraid to say no
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Remember that you don’t always have to deliver a hard “no.” If an opportunity seems like a good fit, you can ask someone on your team to investigate it.
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You also have the option to kick the can down the road. “You’d be surprised by how easily you can delay certain opportunities,” Smith says. “You may miss out on some that don’t fit your immediate strategy, but you can focus on maintaining a relationship that may bring that same opportunity to you again when you are better suited to fulfill on it.”
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5. Automate when possible (and don’t be afraid to outsource)
Are repetitive tasks taking up a great deal of your time? Consider automating these tasks to improve efficiency within your company. In fact, it can handle up to 45% of repetitive work, such as appointment scheduling, reminder emails, and marketing management.
If tasks are taking up your quality time that can’t be automated, consider outsourcing them, so you have time to handle your more critical items.
Link to the rest at ReadWrite
PG knows a lot of the OP is stuff you’ve heard before, but sometimes hearing something at the right time is more important than having heard it before.
Particularly when he is near his computer, PG has a lot of shortcuts he uses to speed up routine tasks. As one small example, “Link to the rest at ” which PG uses at the end of each quoted item is accomplished by PG typing “ltr” which causes his computer to spit out the longer version.
“Period, close quote, return, open quote” would seem like a beneficial macro for an author writing a lot of dialogue.
If you have 15 things on your to-do list for the day, consider starting with a hard task. While it might seem unpleasant, it’s often easier than trying to tackle it later in the day once you’re tired. When doing this, your day is already successful and productive once that hard task is complete.
I will say this is the exact opposite of what works for me. If I try to start with a task that’s difficult or unpleasant, I find reasons to procrastinate and probably won’t do it. Whereas if I start with something easy, I’ll do it, be able to check it off the list, then move on to the next easy thing, and start building momentum. By the time I get to the hard task, I’ll be in working mode and just do it because that’s what I’ve been doing for the past several hours.
Plus, I find that being able to tell myself, “At least I’m not doing horrible thing X” is a great incentive to keep doing productive thing Y; almost every useful thing I do is because I’m busy procrastinating something else.