Work Efficiency: Everything You Need to Know - UpCounsel

People who are very efficient know that focused effort with minimal distractions produces better work in a shorter amount of time. To improve your work ... WorkEfficiency:EverythingYouNeedtoKnow Toimproveworkefficiency,youneedtoknowhowtodelegate,communicate,andfocusmoreeffectively.Improvedworkefficiencycanleadtobetterproductivity.4minread 1.WorkEfficiency:EverythingYouNeedtoKnow2.LearningHowtoDelegate3.CommunicatingMoreEffectively4.PutaStoptoMultitasking5.OrganizingandEfficiency6.MotivatingEmployees WorkEfficiency:EverythingYouNeedtoKnow Toimproveworkefficiency,youneedtoknowhowtodelegate,communicate,andfocusmoreeffectively.Improvedworkefficiencycanleadtobetterproductivityacrossanentireorganization. Intoday'sbusinessenvironment,dealingwithwork-relatedpressureistough.Itcanoftenseemliketherejustaren'tenoughhoursinadaytogeteverythingdone.Youcanimproveyourproductivity,however,byadoptinghabitsthatmakeyouamoreefficientworker.Employeeswhoarethemostefficientknowhowtomakethemostofeachminute.Theyalsogivetheirfullattentiontothemostcrucialtasksfirst.Beingmoreefficientwillimproveyourproductivityandmakeyoulookgoodintheeyesofyoursuperiors—itcanalsomakeyoufeelmoresatisfiedandaccomplishedwiththefull,productiveworkdayyouhad. LearningHowtoDelegate Youcan'tdoeverythingyourself,soaskingforhelpwhenyouneeditandpassingalongtasksinordertoincreaseproductivityisvital.Whencollaboratingwithcolleaguesandcoworkers,youneedgoodcommunicationandtrust.Thisincludesinformingcoworkersofrelevantdeadlinesandensuringthattheyhaveeverythingtheyneedtocompletetheirwork. Assignresponsibilitiestoqualifiedemployees.Thisgivesthemthechancetogainrequiredskillsandleadershipexperience.Ultimately,thisbenefitstheentirecompany. Whenpeopletrytotakeonmorethantheycanrealisticallyaccomplish,productivitydeclines.CEOsandleaderswhoconsistentlyoverloadtheirschedulesshouldn'tbeasourceofinspiration.Instead,takeyourcuesfromtrulyefficientpeoplewhoknowhowtodelegatetaskstoteamplayerswhowillperformthembetter.Knowinghowtobreakdownabigtaskintomanageablechunksandempoweringotherstocontributeletsyouchoosetasksthatyou'rebestsuitedforandworkthroughthemwithoutdistraction. CommunicatingMoreEffectively Communicationiskeytoaproductiveworkforce,andtechnologyhasmadeourcurrentcommunicationmethodsextremelyefficient.However,email-relatedtasksarethesecondmosttime-consumingactivityforemployees(afterjob-specifictasks).Emailscaneatupalmost28percentofaperson'stime. Toimproveefficiency,tryothercommunicationtoolsinsteadofrelyingonemailallthetime.Slackisonesocialnetworkingtoolthat'sdesignedforfasterteamcommunication.Youmayalsowanttoencourageemployeestooccasionallyhaveaquickmeetingorcommunicateviaaphonecall—thefewminutesspentonthatcancuthoursofback-and-forthemails. Oneofthebiggesttimewastersforbusinessesispoorcommunication.Whenbadinstructionsoranegativetonecome acrossinahurriedemail,aprojectmayenduptakingevenlonger. Peoplewhoaremastersofefficiencytakealittleextratimeatthebeginningofatasktoconsiderhowthey'llcommunicate.Theyconsidertheirobjectivesbeforemakingaphonecallorcraftingemails,andtheyusetheexactlanguagethat'snecessarytoachievetheirdesiredeffect.Thismaytakealittlemoretimetostartwith,butitcanshavehoursordaysoffaproject. PutaStoptoMultitasking Whilemanypeoplethinkthey'regoodatmultitasking,therealityisthatonlyaverysmallnumberofpeoplecantrulyfocussimultaneouslyonmorethanonetask.Thisisparticularlytruewhentasksrequireagreatdealoffocusandattention.Peoplethinkthey'redoingmorework,butthey'reactuallygettinglessaccomplished,andthequalityoftheirworkisoftenpoor.Duetosub-parresults,theymaythenspendevenmoretimeandenergyonhavingtofixtheirmistakes. Multitaskingisn'taskillthatleadstogreaterefficiency;theoppositeisoftentrue.Psychologistshavefoundthatwhenweattempttodoseveralthingssimultaneously,weoftenlosetimeandreduceproductivity. Peoplewhoareveryefficientknowthatfocusedeffortwithminimaldistractionsproducesbetterworkinashorteramountoftime.Toimproveyourworkefficiency,committoworkingonasingletaskbeforemovingontothenextone. OrganizingandEfficiency Youcanimproveyourfocusandefficiencyinseveralways: Keepanorderlyworkspace,freeofclutter. Onlykeepitemsvisiblethatyouusedaily. Stasheverythingelseoutofthewayinaneasy-to-reachspot. Arrangeyourareaanddesksothatyoucanquicklyandeasilyfindthematerialsandsuppliesyouneedforwork. Keepdocumentsthatyouuseoftencloseby. Storeotherdocumentsalphabeticallyorinalogicalorderthatworksforyou. Evenifyoudon'tworkinanoffice,thesameguidelinesapply.Forinstance,ifyourworkareaisabicyclerepairshop,keepingyourtoolsorganizedandcleanmakesitmorelikelythatyoucaneasilyfindthem;youwon'twastetimecleaningthemifyouneedtobeginajobimmediately. Adisorganizedworkspacecanhinderproductivity.Youwastetimewhenyouconstantlyhavetohuntfortherequiredtools,materials,ordocuments. MotivatingEmployees Employeescanbemoreefficientiftheyhaveafocusedgoal.Whengoalsaren'tclearlydefinedandachievable,yourworkersmaybelessproductive.Makeemployees'assignmentsasclearandfocusedaspossible.Letthemknowwhat'sexpectedofthem,andtellthemthespecificimpacttheirassignmentwillhave. Youcandothisbycreating"SMART"goals.Theacronymstandsfor: Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely Beforeassigningatask,askyourselfifitisSMARTandfitseveryoneoftheserequirements.Ifitdoesn't,seehowitcanbechangedinordertohelpemployeesstayfocusedandefficient.YoucanuseatoollikeRescueTime,whichletsyouknowhowmuchtimeisspentondailytaskssuchas: Socialmedia Wordprocessing Email Apps Becausepeoplesooftenmisjudgetheamountoftimetheyspendonvarioustasks,toolslikethiscanhelpyoumanageyourtimemorewisely. Ifyouneedhelplearninghowtoimproveyourworkefficiency,youcanpostyourlegalneedonUpCounsel'smarketplace.UpCounselacceptsonlythetop5percentoflawyerstoitssite.LawyersonUpCounselcomefromlawschoolssuchasHarvardLawandYaleLawandaverage14yearsoflegalexperience,includingworkwithoronbehalfofcompanieslikeGoogle,MenloVentures,andAirbnb. Wasthisdocumenthelpful?Shareitwithyournetwork! 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