8 Ways to improve your efficiency in the workplace

Are you struggling to meet your outcome goals despite working overtime? If you have answered yes to this question, it’s time to look closely at your approach towards work. There are only so many hours in the day, so the question remains whether to log more hours or work more efficiently in fewer hours.

Getting yourself acquainted with more effective ways not only helps you with meeting deadlines sooner and being more productive, but also gives you time to either improve your skill set or for leisure activities.

The cost of ineffective work and poor time management is huge. A person’s professional competence is called into question, individuals experience a hurried work life, and personal career goals are unfulfilled. On a higher level, organisations become less effective, project deadlines are not met on time, human resources are underutilised, and as a result, perhaps, people are not as happy with their jobs.

In a nutshell, work efficiency means getting more for less; it is the ability to get the most output from the least possible input. Improving your work efficiency takes time since changing a habit is a slow and step-by-step process. Here are some tips to help you get started:

Plan Out Your Week And Set Goals The perfect recipe for getting nothing done, is agonising over where to start. Having loads of work can create confusion about where to begin and how to go from there. Having a prior plan will guide you and provide a well-laid-out framework of tasks to be done.

Realistic goals Creating a work plan in advance is essential to having success regardless of the kind of work. However, it’s very easy to imagine that everything is possible and get carried away while setting goals. Seeing the top step is easy but getting there requires climbing every single step that precedes it. Therefore, accounting for all the tasks, the resources that will be needed, the time frame, and essential skills should be visualised while setting a goal.

Give yourself rewards! Research has proven that reinforcements work. There will always be some work that we don’t enjoy but are essential, nevertheless. Rather than procrastinating on them, what we suggest is to do them first, then reward yourself by working on something that you enjoy. In this way, you will have something to look forward to.

Take Short Frequent Breaks However long the task is, it is recommended to take small breaks in between to maintain an optimal level of performance. Working constantly for a long time is most likely to lead to a decline in quality of work. Frequent breaks will also avoid getting you burned out and hitting a state of exhaustion that ultimately is counterproductive to efficient work. Moreover, taking a short break is going to reset your mind, give you a fresh perspective, and even help you to get out of a mental block. A short break during work is the necessary recharge boost your brain and body needs. So, there are several break methods that you can try and see what works best for you like the Pomodoro method i.e. taking a 5-minute break at every 25-minute interval and after four such intervals take a longer break of around 30 minutes. This method is a way to maximise your productivity since it aligns with your body’s natural cycle.

Exercise and stretch Spending hours sitting in one position, eyes set on-screen, and working your day away might seem like the perfect way to achieve all the tasks on your list. But it will eventually end up with you being mentally drained. So, keep that pen away and get your posture straight and maybe take a walk around your workplace. Taking these small breaks to stretch your back and rest your eyes is what your body needs in the long run.

Be Productive, Not Reactive When your phone buzzes, you might have a strong urge to check it and take those few seconds away, or someone might pop their head in and make small talk and discuss your plans for the weekend. All these things might seem trivial at the moment, but they contribute to a sufficient amount of lost time cumulatively. Minimising your distractions by turning off notifications or closing your door while working are little practices that can help maximise your productivity and efficiency.

Divide and Conquer There is a difference between being ambitious and being over-ambitious. Wanting to do everything by your standards might be alluring, but a smarter choice is to not work alone. While perfectionism is great, most times it leads to exhaustion and missed target dates, which in turn means overall reduced productivity. Prefer working in teams where each team member contributes their level best to achieve targets within the stipulated time frame. It is essential to know how to delegate those tasks to people who can do it efficiently under your supervision.

Update and Upgrade In today’s time, it is essential to keep upgrading your skill set. Improving your skills and keeping yourself updated with new terms and technologies in your work domain creates a path to better promotion, increments, and career growth. Learning and developing new skills contribute to your efficiency at the workplace and keeps you at the top of your game.

All the above ways on how to improve your work efficiency could be incorporated to boost your efficiency levels at work. Primarily the framework follows observation, measurement of time use, self-evaluation, planning and reinforcement. There will always be things that need to get done but working efficiently ultimately comes down to prioritising and knowing what part of work deserves more of your time and attention and when.