How to Be More Productive at Work
Effective Ways to Get More Done at the Office
Make it a goal to use all the business tools at your disposal as effectively as possible. Learn the ins and outs of all the office gear. That may mean spending a few hours with the phone, printer/copier or computer manual. But it's time well spent in increased efficiency over the long haul.
Use All The Tools
Let that call go to voice mail. Or not. Use caller ID to help decide if this is the time to pick up that call. If it's a chatty work colleague or a social friend who can wait two hours for a return call, don't pick up. If it's the person you've been trying to reach for a week, pick up the call now. Set aside time at regular intervals during the day to return calls.
Leave Short, Actionable Voice Mails
When leaving a voice mail or text message, make it as productive as possible. State the purpose of the call and leave content the recipient can act on, such as "I need to reschedule our Tuesday morning meeting. How about one o'clock or three o'clock that same day?" Avoid leaving just a name and number and a request for a call back. And always leave a call back number, even if the recipient has it or knows it.
Stay on Schedule
Setting up a meeting or on a sales call? When making the appointment, set a beginning and an end time. Respect the client's schedule. Use the alarm function on that cell phone to warn when that the time to wrap up is approaching. For example, if the meeting is scheduled for one hour, set the alarm to buzz at fifty minutes. Keep the phone in a pocket, on vibrate.
Keep emails short. If the message is likely to be more than one computer screen long, pick up the phone instead.
Plan Ahead
Before leaving the office for an eleven o'clock appointment, take a minute to call ahead to make sure the person is on schedule. There's nothing more frustrating than arriving at an appointment on time to find out the person is running an hour late.
Travel with work-related reading materials. If stuck in a waiting room or at the airport, use the time to catch up on an article or two.
Take Notes
Don't trust memory. Always have something to take notes with. It really doesn't matter if it's high or low tech -- a computer, iPhone on old-fashioned notepad and pen. Ideas come at the strangest times, so be prepared to keep track of brainstorms.
Take Breaks
Have a huge project but been putting it off? When there is a dreaded or boring task to accomplish, break it into small parts. Work in short sessions. Set an alarm or timer for an hour or so and then move onto another project.
Take regular breaks and get out of that chair for five minutes or so each hour. A break now and then can help re-focus work efforts.
Use the last 15 or 20 minutes of the work day to set up for tomorrow. Check the calendar or schedule. Confirm appointments. Download driving directions. Clear the clutter off the desk. Clean out the email in-box, and be ready to tackle new issues in the morning.
If it's difficult to make these changes at once, implement them one at a time. But learn to use all of the features of the office equipment. Use voice and email effectively. Always travel with work-related reading material and a method to record ideas or notes. Take regular breaks and divide large or unpleasant jobs into shorter pieces Follow these tips to make work days more productive.
Learn to use all the features of your office gear.
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Keep track of time. Set your phone on vibrate.
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Always have some way to record notes and ideas.
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