Do you ever think to yourself, if only I had more time to do the things I need to do each day at work? Whether you’re working for yourself or in employment to somebody else, you may find you never have enough of that precious commodity (yes, we are still talking about time).
And yet…
You probably do have time to complete your daily tasks, but there may be time-killers hindering your progress. Here are some of the common issues that can hinder your time during the day, and some handy tips on how to combat them.
- The internet. This technological marvel is great for many things, but when it comes to your working day, you need to limit your surfing time. Unless you are using it for research, answering work emails or social media marketing, log off occasionally and focus on your tasks. You can look at cat videos on YouTube when you have finished for the day, and your friend’s latest posts of her holiday snaps can wait as well.
- Your computer systems. Unless you’re an expert with computer systems, it’s easy to get bogged down with complicated IT issues. Rather than trying to figure everything out yourself, and to save you on phone calls when talking to IT technicians, you can stay on top of your network and monitor more of what matters less using network monitoring tools. You will be alerted to any problems through a simple dashboard interface, giving you the ability to sort out any issues before they hinder your day.
- Procrastination. If you have a project to submit by a certain deadline, you need to prioritize it with utmost importance. What you shouldn’t do is decide you will leave it until tomorrow, or the next day, or the… you catch our drift. Be professional, focus on what matters most during the day, and leave those other less-important jobs behind until you have completed the most urgent things first. You will only panic and stress-out as the deadline looms if you don’t!
- Other people. It may be somebody sitting across from you in the office. Or it might be a family member talking to you while you’re in your home office. There are people on the other end of your phone or on social media who might feel like a chat with you, or you might be your own worst enemy and instigate a conversation with somebody else. If your conversation isn’t work-related, quit chatting, tell those other people you are busy, and get back to the task at hand.
- Meetings. Now, there are times when a meeting will be important. However, if you are constantly being dragged into a meeting room for things that don’t really matter, it is a waste of everybody’s time. It’s even worse when half the meeting is taken up by gossip and waffle before the main crux of the meeting begins. So, don’t instigate a meeting unless it is important. If you have to drive across town for a meeting, consider using video conferencing software instead to cut on traveling time. If your boss calls you into a meeting, stay on topic and steer them that way too. And if they aren’t necessary at all – remind yourself and others that you are busy!
Reclaim your time at work by avoiding the time-killers we mentioned. You will have a more productive day, and you will feel better when you know your day hasn’t been wasted. If you know of any other time-killers at work, please share them with us (after you have completed work for the day) especially if you have any tips on how to avoid them. Thanks for reading!
