These days, it is easy to be overwhelmed by an avalanche of tasks: assignments ranging from small and medium to large ones can hamper our productivity and lead us into the trap of being too busy. It is important that we not confuse both terms since there is a vast difference between the two. To be busy is to do many tasks all day, whether these serve your purpose or not. For example, watching television, doing chores for others, and being on social media may not be good examples of doing things that can help you reach your goals. On the other hand, to be productive is to complete the most important tasks.
To solve this dilemma, here are some practical steps that can help you work smart instead of hard:
Make a list of your main responsibilities
Identify what tasks really impact your performance and the value that you bring to the company; in other words, document tasks that bring more benefits to the table. If you know about the Pareto principle, you will identify the 20% of your tasks that represent 80% of the benefits.
These are the activities that you will complete first. Then you can tackle the other ones, making sure to work through your to-do list on a priority basis.
By organizing your workload in this manner, you allow yourself to determine your availability when someone wants to delegate work to you—by weighing the new task against what you already have. If it not does not add value or you don’t have room for more, you can just put your foot down and say no or negotiate what needs to be taken off your plate to cover this new assignment.
Start tracking your time
Tracking the time that you spend per activity is very important to really know what you can accomplish and when. This is the first step to decluttering your day. So take a spreadsheet and list your activities during the week and how much of your time you will dedicate to them. From meetings, reports, analyses, and email responses to any other administrative work that can be easily delegated, track all your tasks and also the impact/justification indicator to determine if the task is part of your 20% or not.
Stop wasting time with the details
Yes, it’s good to be detail oriented, but sticking to a task by performing multiple comparisons between options or trying to make everything picture perfect is not worth it. In project management, the perfect product rarely exists. Think about just delivering what is right and which will meet the scope of the project. That’s more than enough. Remember, you can later refine whatever it is that you are doing.
Find out if you can delegate
Now that you know what activities are the most important and what are not, you can start thinking about what can be best done by others. Repetitive, small tasks are the ideal starting point. Evaluate the skills of the person that you will choose to do the work for you. Give them proper instructions and monitor the progress of the coworker taking over the assignment. Showing that you trust your coworker always promotes empowerment, which is crucial to accomplishing goals with quality and on time.
Finally, encourage feedback. This is a great way to know how the other person feels about the assignment.
Create a Toolkit
There are many tools that can help us trim the time required for tasks. We all have to write emails, make presentations, and follow up on things, among many other responsibilities. Instead of doing everything from scratch, you can build, find, and adapt instruments that can help you cut down your time, such as the following:
Find or create templates
This is a great way to work both professionally and fast. If you have to create a document, such as a project plan, project charter, requirement document, and so on, you can find or create templates for any recurring document or notifications sent to co-workers or clients.
Use digital tools
Nowadays, there are plenty of options in the market to automate our daily work. Look for project management tools that allow you to automate tasks, with reminder and follow-up features, calendar and schedule management, notes, and others. Other adjuncts can be time tracking apps to measure the time you spend on different projects. Collaboration tools, besides reducing the consumption of time, allow you to manage document versions and reduce errors.
Learn from others who are doing well
We all know people who are able to do several things at once and who always remain calm. They are like the gurus of productivity and stress management. These people could be your co-workers, your friends and family, or even those on YouTube. I have seen people who were suffering from anxiety and were burnt out and who could later strike the right work-life balance. Ask them for tips and create your own philosophy.
Whatever happens, remember your goals
Sometimes, the unexpected happens. There could be sudden emergencies due to external factors. These situations warrant our immediate attention, and it is fine to derail your work-train for a little while to address these issues. However, make sure that you put your goals and objectives first at all times. If possible, put up some graphics, such as a vision board, to remind you what is really important to you.
Bottom line
It is easy to just go with the flow and do things without pausing to reflect on how significant your endeavor really is. However, conducting yourself in this way prevents you from evolving both professionally and personally.
The good news is, it is never too late to re-orient your actions to your objectives. Step by step, you will find your path. Just incorporate these simple, yet highly effective, steps in your daily life to become a more productive person and notice how they can transform your life.