How to Work Faster and More Efficiently - The Balance Careers

To be an efficient and productive worker means prioritizing your work and allowing sufficient time to do it correctly. Practicing good work ... LinkedInwithBackground WomeninBusiness Basics HowtoWorkFasterandMoreEfficiently 5TipstoDoYourJobSmarter ••• RafalRodzoch/GettyImages By LahleWolfe FullBio LinkedIn Twitter LahleWolfewroteaboutwomeninbusinessforTheBalanceCareers.Shehasmorethan25yearsofexperienceinsmallbusinessdevelopmentandranherowndigitalmarketingfirm. Learnaboutour editorialpolicies UpdatedonFebruary09,2020 We'vebecomeconditionedtothinkthatworkinghardmerelymeansworkinglonghours.Butdoesitmatterhowmuchyouworkifyoudon'tdelivergreatresults?Mostofushaveheardthecliché"worksmarter,notharder,"butweoftendolittletoheeditswisdom. Workingsmartermeansgettingthebestresultswiththeleastamountofwastedtimeandenergy.Itrequiressteppingbacktothinkthroughhowwework,notjusthowmuchworkwedoorhowmanyhourswelogdoingit.Ifyouworkefficientlyforthesamenumberofhoursyou'reworkingnow,howmuchmorecouldyouaccomplish?Tryimplementingthesefivetechniquesandsee. PrioritizeTasks Prioritizeworkprojectsbasedontheamountofworkinvolvedaswellasthescheduledduedates.Allowasufficientamountoftimeforeachproject,butsetatimerforyourselfasachallengetogettheworkdonefaster.Don'tjumpbackandforthbetweentasks.Focusononeatatime,usingaproductivitytechniqueknownas"chunking,"andallowyourselftobeabsorbedindoinggoodwork.Whenthetimergoesoff,takeabreakandswitchgearsontoadifferentkindoftasktokeepyourselfengaged. KeepaCleanWorkspace Ifyouwanttoworkfaster,it'shelpfultohaveeverythingaccessibleandorganized.Themoretimeyouhuntthroughfiles—orworse,pilesonyourdesk—themoredistractedyoubecome.Acleanworkspacehelpsclearyourmind,too.Keepyourdeskinorderandyourcomputerdesktopclutter-freesoyoucangetrighttothetaskathand.Spendalittletimeeachdayputtingyourworkawayandcleaningup,soyourworkspaceisreadyforyourbestworkwhenyoureturn. MinimizeDistractions Whenworkingonprojects,trytominimizeanydistractions.Lowertheringeronyourcellphoneandstoreitawayfromview.Turnoffanyothernoise,suchastelevisionprograms,oranymusicthatdoesn'thelpyoufocusonyourwork.Establishexpectationswithyourco-workersandshutyourdoortoavoiddisturbances.Don'tavoidsocializingwithyourcolleagues,butkeepittobreaktimessoyou'renotbouncinginandoutofworkmode. AvoidBusywork It'seasytogravitatetowardtasksyoucanquicklycheckoffthelist.Especiallywhenyouspendthewholedayfeelingdistractedandunproductive,knockingoutsomemindlessbusyworksoundsprettynice.Butoftenthosetasksaren'thelpingyoudelivergoodresults.Setalimitedtimeeachdaytocheckoffanynecessarybusywork,butsaveyourbesthoursforyourmostimportanttasks. BreakupBigProjects Amajorprojectcanseemtoooverwhelmingtotackle.Youkeeppushingittothebottomofthepile,eventhoughyouknowit'simportant.Insteadofavoidingit,trybreakingthatbigprojectintoaseriesofsmalltasks.Chooseafewtocompleteduringtheweekandplanthoseintoyourwork.Thefeelingthatyou'remakingprogresstowardabiggoalwillinspireyouinyourothertasks. SmartWork Whenitcomestoworkingproductively,thedegreeofeffortyouputintoaprojectdoesnotalwaysmeanaqualityproductwillresult.Iftaskstaketoolongbecauseyou'retired,distracted,ordisorganized,it'saclearsignyou'reworkingtoohard. Tobeanefficientandproductiveworkermeansprioritizingyourworkandallowingsufficienttimetodoitcorrectly.Practicinggoodworkhabitswillensurepositive,consistentresults.Themostimportantstepyoucantaketowardworkingmoreefficientlyistomakeaplanthatyoucanfolloweachday. Share Tweet Share Email HowtoAnswerInterviewQuestionsAboutTimeManagement HowtoOptimizeProductivityWhileWorkingfromHome LearnHowtoAnswerJobInterviewQuestionsAboutYourWorkPace TopOrganizationalSkillsEmployersValuewithExamples HowtoAnswerInterviewQuestionsAboutWorkingFromHome TipsforAnsweringJobInterviewQuestionsAboutMultitasking DealingWithDifficultPeopleIsaMustforYourCareerSuccess BestAnswersforWhatisYourGreatestWeaknessWithExamples WhattoWeartoWorkforaRealEstateJob HowtoAnswertoInterviewQuestionsAboutWorkStyle InterviewQuestionsAboutHowMuchYouWork GetNewsAnchorTipsandTricksFromaTVTalentCoach InDefenseoftheMessyDesk WhyStrongOrganizationalSkillsAreImportantforYourCareer TakeControlofYourTimeWhenYouWorkatHome TipsforGettingtheWork/LifeBalanceYouDeserve