Being productive at work is of paramount importance, not only for your job performance, but for your overall job satisfaction and your own sense of accomplishment. As a team of Ex-Marketers here at Spotlight Recruitment, we know all too well from our candidates, that if motivation at work falters it can impact your productivity. Here are some tips to support productivity and results!
1. Set goals for the day
The best way to set yourself up for success and create a productive mindset is to start your day by making a list of achievable goals to complete, which address your specific tasks. Have a think about how long each task would take to complete and try to be realistic with how it will fit into your day. It helps to physically write your daily goals list on paper, as this makes tasks seem more manageable and also helps you to decide which tasks to prioritise.
2. Stop multi-tasking
Whilst we’re talking about prioritising, having a seemingly endless list of tasks in your head making you multitask can often overwhelm you and makes it hard to know where to begin. Instead, tackle each task one-by-one and order them by level of urgency, with things that can be done tomorrow towards the end of the list. The two-minute rule is great to help you prioritise tasks – any tasks that take two minutes or less, do them first (or when they come in) and get them out of the way.
3. Recognise your working style & habits
It makes sense to attempt to tackle the big, lengthy tasks when you feel the most alert and energised, so that you can focus your energy efficiently. Typically, if you’re more of a morning person, it’s best to work on these difficult tasks there and then, whereas the opposite is true if you tend to be more focused in the afternoons. Everyone works differently, so try and identify what time of the day you work best and schedule your work accordingly – LinkedIn offers a simple test which is a great way to identify your most productive time of day. If you have a role that offers flexible working hours, it may be best to make use of this to follow your working style and habits and improve your productivity.
4. Take breaks
As humans, we are only capable of paying full attention to a given task for a limited amount of time, and after this, our attention slowly starts to fade. Be sure to take a short break away from your screen every couple of hours and take around 5-10 minutes to do some short activities that help you relax – this could be listening to music or taking a short walk around your home or the office. Allowing yourself these short breaks will be a sure way to improving your productivity at work.
5. Simplify your surroundings
Whether you’re working from the office or working from home, your work surroundings have a sizeable impact on productivity and ability to focus. To improve your productivity, try to reduce distractions in your workspace; this can include organising your desktop to reduce clutter or making use of noise cancelling headphones to zone out from background noise. Furthermore, you can also prevent distraction by ensuring that your workspace is comfortable, for example, an ergonomic work chair or the right sized desk.
The main route to being productive at work is planning your day into manageable and realistic time slots that work for you and the way you operate best. Improving your productivity at work will reward you with a greater sense of achievement and job satisfaction in the long run.
Are you struggling with job satisfaction and looking for a new marketing, content, digital marketing or communications role? Spotlight Recruitment would be happy to assist your search for your dream role, so get in touch today!
NICOLA MONGON is the MD of Spotlight Recruitment, specialists in marketing, digital, and communications recruitment since 2008. Read our 5* Google reviews from candidates and clients to find out more. If you would like to discuss hiring plans or find out more about us, you can reach Spotlight at 020 3008 4254 or info@spotlightrecruitment.com