Do you feel overwhelmed at work and find yourself racing against deadlines constantly?
Do you fail to feel accomplished and fulfilled at the end of your work day?
If yes, chances are that you start your day on a perfect note with lists and goals, but then your workday starts spiraling out of control and the mountain of pending tasks weighs you down at the end of the day.
Here are three tips to help you regain control of your time and concentrate your efforts in an efficient manner to increase your productivity. It’s also important to remember that all of us have our unique styles of tackling work, so one-size-fits all lists aren’t very useful.
1) F.O.C.U.S
Follow One Course Until Successful (F.O.C.U.S) is a highly effective strategy to avoid getting stuck in the vicious cycle of multitasking.
Be it a long-term goal or a daily task, it requires unwavering attention and targeted effort to be completed on time. When we focus, our mind and energy is fully dedicated towards finishing one task and only then moving on to the other which increases productivity and reduces the risk of error.
On the other hand, when we multitask, our mind gets so preoccupied with juggling different responsibilities that we are not able to finish anything. And even if we do, chances of forgetting or making mistakes is significantly higher.
Moreover, scientifically speaking, the human mind is incapable of multitasking due to its limited cognitive bandwidth at a given point of time. Earl K. Miller, a neuroscience professor said that “Multitasking is not humanly possible.”
It might be easy to con ourselves into thinking that we can handle everything on our plate at the same time from business calls and presentations to emails and planning for the future tasks, however, it only leads to chaos and erroneous work.
2) Take Breaks
It is important to rest and rejuvenate, especially while working long hours and handling high-pressure situations. Working for hours at a stretch slows down our pace and reduces our attention span. So, instead of getting more work done, we actually start falling behind while working under the illusion of accomplishing more.
For every hour of work done, take a break for 15 minutes to reset your mind. This will increase your concentration levels and make you feel more motivated to finish your tasks. If you can’t afford to take a longer break, just get up and walk around the office for 5 minutes to stretch your muscles and give a break to your eyes.
3) Divide Your Goals Into Small Tasks
A mammoth goal might seem overwhelming, however, if you divide it into small pieces, that goal becomes attainable. Dividing the goal into a series of tasks that are to be done and arranged together in a chronological manner suddenly gives you clarity about what is to be done in the long run through a series of actions in the short run.
It also gives you more control and confidence to achieve these goals which consequently increases your productivity.
4) Follow The 2 Minute Rule
If you have a task that can be done in under 2 minutes, such as replying to an email, entering a batch of data in an excel sheet etc, do it immediately. Finding and doing such tasks instantly gives you a sense of accomplishment and helps you check a bunch of tasks off your list. Such small tasks may be high in number, but they can be finished fairly quickly.
Following “the two minute rule” helps you avoid forgetting such tasks of trivial nature. Doing so also sets the tone for your day while helping you settle into your workday on a positive note.
Written by Gagan Dhawan
