We love our job, do we not? Instinctively we work hard so we can excel at work. Achieving the best results for our clients and build a long-term working relationship is our everyday goal; hence we work the way we do.
After working hard for a period of time, there comes a point when you will realize that there’s only so much we can do and the tasks seems endless. This is critical as this may lead to exhaustion and boredom with your tasks that will compromise the quality of your work. Don’t get me wrong. I work hard myself and at times I am considered a workaholic – I work long hours until something is done or I get the results I need.
Just like everyone else, we only have 24 hours a day. Forcing yourself to excel is like inviting unnecessary stress. To avoid this, you need to start working smart too.
Working hard AND smart gives you the top results and definitely gets the maximum value of your time and effort.
Here are tips you can apply to your working life.
Plan your day
As cliché as it may sound, it is the important step in your working life we take for granted most of the time. We have to admit that we live in an attention-seeking world. Email alerts, Skype notifications; social media posts all need our attention. If we don’t effectively plan our day, we will live our life in constant reaction. Planning will make us focus on important things not just the urgent.
At this point, start utilizing a calendar, a planner or a task manager. Prioritizing work allows us safeguard our time for activities that have a high impact.
Automate
This does not need so much detail as it speaks for itself. Automating has its obvious advantages. Imagine this, every time you check your emails, all your messages are sorted into folders thus saving time going through your entire inbox. If one of your tasks involves taking care of your client’s social media posting and you spend an hour or more doing this, automating this task will allow you to save time and giving you more time to work on other tasks and be “extra” productive.
Create a NOT to-do list
Time spent doing tasks that have little impact is a recipe for disaster. Whilst all tasks assigned by our client are important, we should consider the time we spend for each tasks and weigh its impact. You can start group your tasks into something like Urgent, Important and Least important
Urgent
- Task 1 (1 hour)
- Task 2 (45 minutes)
- Task 3 (45 minutes)
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutesImportant
- Task 1 (1 hour)
- Task 2 (30 minutes)
- Task 3 (1 hour)
Total time: 2 hours, 30 minutesMinor
- Task 1 (30 minutes)
- Task 2 (45 minutes)
- Task 3 (45 minutes)
Total time: 2 hoursRecognize the things you can and can’t do.
We have a nature of impressing our client by giving the impression you are a super human that can do everything. This can create more damage than improvement. Doing something you can’t do is a waste of your time and your client’s time. It’s best that you recognize your skills and be honest about it.Don’t get me wrong though, there’s no harm in trying and having the urge to learn something new, there are just times when it’s okay to say you can’t.Find a short cutContrary to what you may think, the short cut method does not mean you are lazy. If used as an advantage, finding an easier way to get the job done will maximize your time and be productive. As much as possible think of ways you can improve your working style and don’t restrict yourself in certain rules of doing things.Review your methods (with your client)
Connect with your client and review your methods and the results. If your methods work, stick with it. Explain to your client the advantages of your style and the productivity it brings. This is actually hitting 2 birds with one stone; you get to do what’s most effective to you and you give your client an impression that you know what you are doing.But don’t forget to be open to suggestions and criticisms.
Spend your rest days away from computer
Spending time in nature will help you reset your attention span and relax your mind.Giving yourself time not to think about work for a day or two allows your mind to relax and this will help you focus longer, not to mention gives you subconscious motivation.
Work/ life balance means that we must also be intentional about planning time for our families and for our relationships then sticking to the plan.
Become more productive, focus more, and get more stuff done in less time.
We hope that you found this helpful. At HireSmartVAs.com we are always looking for top candidates who are looking for a career and not just another client. To apply for a position, contact our staffing partner at www.5StarVAs.com and show us what you can do to help our clients.
