Blogs

There are always those days where you leave the office and think about your day, and wish you could’ve accomplished more, or you wish you did something different, or maybe you forgot to address a certain task. But why stress over a something you can’t change? According to Research by Top 10 Online Colleges, 2013:

• 76% of workers put money and work as leading causes of stress in their lives
• 41% of workers are stressed out throughout the actual workday
• 1/3 of adults get less than 6 hours of sleep per night

So how do we reduce this stress and become more efficient at our workplace? 

Determine the task that you don’t want to accomplish first. There are always going to be tasks that you find dreadful and tasks that you simply don’t like to do, but those tasks are also important to your company. When you put off these tasks, you end up being distracted about everything you still have to accomplish, and you tend to lose focus. So instead of stressing out and getting off task, clear your head and tackle those grueling tasks first.

Have a quiet environment. Having no disruptions, no phones going off, emails aren’t being checked and having everyone staying at their own desk can be beneficial for your company. Having this time period of maybe 60-90 minutes every morning can ensure that everyone is focused and getting their work accomplished before any unexpected issues arise later in the day.

Never spend an extensive amount of time on a project at once. Eventually you will hit that point where you hit a mental block and lose some focus, and that typically happens every 90 minutes. It is important that you don’t push through this; instead you need to take a break and walk away or even start on another task, and then go back.

Plan out your next day. Make sure at the end of your work day you leave some time to organize your desk and more importantly, plan out your tasks for tomorrow. This will allow you to come into work the next day already knowing what you have to do for the day, and you can dive right into your work. This will also help you clear your head before you leave to go home knowing that you are prepared for tomorrow.

Time your repetitive tasks. Notice how long it takes you to do these day to day activities, and determine if these tasks are truly necessary. When you figure out how much time you are spending on a certain task and where, you will have the opportunity to change that focus and maybe place time somewhere else where it is needed more.