Let’s face it. Most of us have a limited amount of time to do things during our working days. We seldom have the freedom or luxury of time to do things at our own pace. Often, we must complete tasks to specific deadlines – and often tight ones.
As you can imagine, we always have to prioritize our daily tasks. The last thing we wish to do is miss deadlines because of non-important things on our to-do lists. The trouble is, many of us end up wasting time without even realizing it!
If you wish to maximize time at your workplace, today’s blog post is for you. Here’s how you and your staff can use your time more wisely:
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
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Lock-down social media access
We might not wish to admit this fact in public, but we all waste time on social media each day. You know what I’m talking about: catching up on Facebook or Twitter between tasks! The thing is, some people take too many social media breaks. If you add up all that time spent, it could get better spent completing work tasks faster.
The solution to that problem is simple: lock down social media access! You could allow it during lunch breaks, for example. At other times, deny access to it from your work computers.
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Ban the use of mobile phones in the workplace
It’s no secret that we all live in a connected world. These days, most folks have a smartphone or mobile device. And it’s likely they get used on a daily basis. Especially at work! There is no reason to have a mobile phone switched on during working hours.
Business phone users can have their calls diverted to their desk phones. And productivity tasks can get completed on computers instead of mobiles. And if someone needs to reach people in emergencies, desk phones are still accessible.
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Encourage people to stand up at their desks
Do most workers at your office sit at their desks all day long? If so, it can cause them to be less efficient. One innovative idea is to let each person use a sit stand desk. In a nutshell, they are desks where you can adjust the height.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
That means they can do some of their tasks standing up. And when they need to sit down, they can “lower” them!
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Encourage staff to complete quick tasks first
Each person at your workplace will have a to-do list of the day’s proceedings. Some people feel that tackling the harder jobs first is a productive use of their time. But, that usually means you end up with less time to complete the array of smaller outstanding tasks!
Instead, encourage your workers to finish the smaller and easier tasks first. It will also motivate them because they will feel they have accomplished more in their day.
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Have your employees organize their email inboxes
Some people are guilty of keeping all their messages in their inboxes. As you can imagine, it’s not a productive or efficient thing to do. For instance, what if you need to find a particular message quickly? That’s not always possible in an inbox with 10k+ messages in it!
Instead, your staff should reimagine their inboxes. They can start by creating a filing system of folders relevant to particular topics. Next, they can create filters that automatically move messages to those relevant folders.
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Let workers have some alone time
There will be occasions where staff need full concentration to complete specific projects. It can be hard to do that when there’s an office full of noisy people and computer equipment!
I recommend creating a “quiet zone” where people can work undisturbed. It will help workers to be more efficient at what they do. Especially if their colleagues don’t interrupt them on a regular basis.
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Outsource some of your work
There will be times in most businesses where specific seasons mean increased workloads. When that happens, your HR resources will get stretched beyond compare.
You might think that hiring more staff will solve the problem. But, what will those extra workers do during the quieter times of the year?
When workloads increase, outsource some tasks to third-party companies. The advantage of doing so is you can use those providers on an ad-hoc basis. And that also means your HR costs will be lower than expected too.
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Promote flexible working hours
It can be to your company’s advantage that your staff work irregular hours. For example, let’s say that some people want to start and finish work later. When most people go home, late starters can do their work interrupted by calls and emails. And the same applies to people that wish to start and finish earlier each day too.
