So you’ve been trying to work smarter for a while now.
You see others do it. And it seems like everyone makes it look so easy.
You are frustrated with the slow movement of things around you and love to work faster.
Or you are stressed with working for long around things and would love to learn the secrets to working faster.
Deep down you desire to work faster like everybody else.
And you’ve tried several tricks ….Am I right?
But for some reason, success keeps eluding you.
Every time you get close to working smarter, something happens and you end up back where you started.
Not this time.
Because this time you’re going to be armed with the same tips, tricks, and secrets that the Highly Successful Managers, Leaders, and CEOs know.
So give these tips a try and see how they work for you too.
But first, let me explain Why you need to work smarter.
WORKING SMARTER HELPS YOU IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS :
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If you work smarter you will be able to accomplish projects and goals much faster than you can think.
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You will save time and effort and money for the organization as a whole
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The top management will view you as a potential candidate for the next promotion and entrust you with bigger responsibilities.
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Your employees will see you as an expert and treat you with respect. You will be able to help them work faster and make the best use of opportunities that come your way.
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In face of challenges and responsibilities, you will be able to make quick decisions and progress faster.
I believe by now you have understood the importance of working smarter and faster.
Get these 23 Productivity Hacks to Work Smarter, Get more done and find Fulfilment and Balance Here !
So let us move on to the tips that will help you work smarter!
Tip #1 Have a Clear objective in mind
To make the best use of your time and energy, have a clear vision of your objectives. Or else you will end up working hard and frustrated if you do not know what your goals are.
It is advisable to make a list of your short-term and long-term goals and track your progress and results.
‘’Always have a goal to work towards.’’
A Goal is a dream you want to come true.
Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Writing down goals is a powerful motivator.
People with written goals are 50% more likely to achieve them than people without goals
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If you have goals you will be able to focus your efforts on something valuable.
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You will have a direction in your life, and be focused and motivated.
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You will feel more fulfilled.
Select a Goal that energizes you, like creating a new source of income, or learning a skill to take your career to the next level.
Set a time frame to accomplish your goal.
Make a list of tasks around the goal.
Prioritize and schedule the tasks into your calendar.
TIP#2 Make Smart Decisions
Working round the clock will not ensure success. For your Hard Work to pay off, make intelligent decisions that are based on maximizing outcomes by using the minimum efforts and resources.
’Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.’’
Always think, analyze and make a strategy before you act. Be more than a hundred percent prepared, and then prepare yourself even more.
TIP #3 Know the Impact of Your Work
Instead of blindly ticking off tasks on your to-do list, focus on tasks that add value and have a high impact.
If your tasks do not help you achieve your targets, then see what needs to be changed. Use smart techniques to work.
TIP#4 Develop your Smart Working skills .
In today’s world where there is so much noise and competition, focus on working smart and standing out from the crowd, instead of following the crowd. Develop qualities that make you stand out from others. Leverage your strengths as well as others’ strengths around you.
TIP#5 Focus On Maximising Your Life’s Results .
There are only 3 most important activities that will maximize your life’s results and they are :
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Creating value (innovating),
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Delivering value (marketing),
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Capturing value (selling and negotiating ),
Always under-promise and over-deliver, and manage expectations properly.
TIP#6 Be innovative and bold in your field .
Innovate. Try to improve and look for new ways to do things. Brainstorm ideas on how you can provide value and improve things around you.
Let your seniors, direct reports, and stakeholders know what kind of value you can provide.
TIP#7 – Share, network, and learn from others.
Share what you know, network hard and try to learn things from others.
TIP#8 Be in control of your emotions and make the best choices that you can.
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Be calm and polite .
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Know your areas of weakness and get rid of those that need to be .
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Develop your skills.
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You must be well-versed in the topic of interest.
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Have a positive outlook on life
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Hang out with influential people and learn from them.
Tip # 9-Be Sure to Plan your week and days.
”If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail .”
Peter Drucker
Develop a step-by-step roadmap for your Goal, Organize things, and overcome the challenges by creating more options. It will help you sail seamlessly toward your destination.
All successful people plan their days and week.
Tip # 10 Prioritize your tasks.
Why do you need to prioritize?
Prioritization helps you to assess tasks in order of importance and urgency.
It helps you to reach your goals faster and be more efficient.
Make a list of tasks that are urgent and important to you.
Keep a calendar so that you keep things in order. This will save you a lot of free time, and keep you organized and stress-free, from the chaotic life.
Have your big priorities and small priorities outlined and rank the tasks using ABCDE or 1 2 3 4 to rank items in order of highest priority to the lowest.
Use questions like –’’ What comes before everything, so that all else falls in place ?”
What comes next, and what else?
Keep repeating till you have sequenced all of them one after the other.
Get the most important tasks moving.
Tip #11 -Categorize your task list
Keep separate bucket lists of tasks and add tags to tasks like urgent, important, not urgent, and not important.
Use the Eisenhower matrix to categorize tasks. The matrix helps you to classify tasks into 4 main categories -Urgent and Important, Important but Not Urgent, Urgent but not important, and Not Important and Not Urgent.
Urgent and important tasks are those that are unforeseen or left by others for last-minute -health issues like a toothache or firefighting or the main switch fuse.
Important but not urgent tasks are activities that help us reach our professional and personal goals.
Urgent but not important tasks will slow you from reaching your goals. Say yes to the person and no to the tasks. Encourage them to solve their problems
Not important and not urgent -are tasks that do not contribute to your goals in any way, they are distractions.
Tip # 12 Batch your tasks.
Batching is grouping specific tasks that are similar or tasks that are to be done at the same place and doing them together.
This will help you to stay focused on the task for longer and will prevent the overwhelm of having to do so many different types of tasks.
Batching saves you a lot of energy.
If you do them separately you will have to spend a lot of time doing them individually.
It increases your efficiency and reduces setup and switching costs.
Batching improves your focus, increases productivity, yields better results, and reduces stress.
It helps to simplify things.
Tip # 13 Leverage your Peak Productive Hours .
All productive people do their most creative tasks at their peak productive hours.
Schedule your most creative tasks at your peak productive hours.
To find your peak productive hours, just think of the time of the day when you feel more energetic and schedule your most important goals or projects during these hours.
It helps you to be in flow and increases your focus and helps you work faster.
Tip # 14 Avoid doing them all alone.
Do not be a Superman trying to do it all alone. Ask for help
Use other people’s energy to work smarter and faster.
Delegate tasks that take a lot of your time, or tasks that you are not interested in, to others who are good at them.
People who are good at tasks that you don’t like will be able to do them faster.
Delegation helps you to accomplish tasks faster.
Tip # 15. Always Motivate yourself.
Keep yourself motivated. Reading quotes, listening to podcasts, or reading blogs will motivate you.
Take one small step each day towards the big goal, note your small accomplishments and celebrate your small wins.
Motivating yourself and celebrating your small wins will keep you positive and going.
Tip # 16 Don’t Multitask.
Avoid multitasking as it yields a poor quality of work. Multitasking leads to poor IQ And EQ.
90% of the top performers have high EQs.
People who multitask during cognitive tasks, experience a decline in their IQ.
Multitasking slows you down by 40 %.
Those who multitask make double amount of mistakes compared to those who do one thing at a time
It increases stress levels and high rates of heart disease.
Those who manage interruptions like emails and phone calls experience less stress.
Instead of multitasking, Focus on one task at a time.
Some tips to avoid multitasking are :
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Make a daily task management system.
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Do the most difficult and important things in the morning, instead of working in fragments throughout the day.
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Manage your attention and shift it from one task to another consciously.
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Keep work schedules of 90 minutes with 10-minute breaks in between. This will help you accomplish faster and keep you focused.
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Schedule time to respond to emails.
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Create solutions to deal with distractions.
Tip # 17 Overcome Procrastination.
If you procrastinate for a moment of pleasure, things will bounce back on your face.
Think of the long-term impact it will have on you.
Break the task into small steps and take one step at a time so that you keep progressing consistently and stay in control.
Tip # 18. Practice saying No often.
The word No is very powerful for productivity.
Until you have finished a task at hand or completed a goal, do not say yes to things or people who come with other tasks, or else it will slow down your momentum and you will take more time to reach your goals.
Say yes to fewer things, but when you do say yes, fully commit.
Tip # 19. Take Notes
Use simple tools like a paper notepad or your note-making apps on your laptop or mobile to note down ideas or tasks that come to mind and work on them later.
Tip # 20 -Stay Organized
Keep things organized and keep your workspace clutter-free.
A cluttered workspace makes you distracted.
Clean after you finish working. A cluttered desk is a sign of procrastination.
A cluttered environment is distracting and lowers your efficiency.
Tip # 21 Do not let interruptions and distractions disturb you.
Interruptions and distractions like phone calls, emails, messages or a sudden chat or advice, or a request for help from a co-worker will slow you down and lower the quality of your work.
Switch off from devices like social media, emails, or phone notifications.
Do not keep multiple tabs open at the same time.
Turn down people politely.
Tip # 22 -Let Go of Perfectionism.
Waiting to do things perfectly or waiting for the perfect moment is an illusion.
There will be no perfect time and there is no definition of a perfect thing.
Perfectionism slows and delays things.
Just keep going with what you have.
Getting started is the first step to getting things done.
Tip #23 Manage your Time Judiciously
Your time is a non-renewable resource. Use it wisely and judiciously.
Tasks that take up a maximum of your time must be delegated or outsourced to others.
Here are some things you must keep in mind to use your time judiciously :
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Be Proactive.
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Remove distractions while working.
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Focus on 20%Tasks that give you 80% of your results.
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Have separate time set aside to answer emails, phones, and messages.
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Leverage your peak productivity hours. Schedule your most creative tasks during those hours.
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Do one thing at a time, do not multitask.
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Delegate or outsource tasks that take a maximum of your time and energy.
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Identify and Avoid time wasters.
Identify where most of your time goes, whether it goes in sleeping, in the bathroom, watching T.V, talking to employees, social media, or handling emails or meetings.
Think of ways how you can save a few minutes from each of them and how you can work faster.
Designate someone to handle all emails or answer phone calls.
Instead of calling meetings frequently, use messaging with emails and texts.
Tip # 24 -Try using tools and templates.
Tools and templates help you to think and work faster.
They help you to design a structure faster.
They help you be organized and help you work efficiently.
Some tools that help you to work faster are a Goal planner, Project planner, Delegation log, Weekly planner, Eisenhower matrix, To-do list, and a Master routine for the month and week.
CONCLUSION
Working smarter is fairly simple when you apply these tips in your day-to-day life.
By reading all the strategies, you have completely understood the little things you have to do that will go a long way to help you work smarter and be highly successful in your career and job.
These strategies will not only help you to work faster, but save you a lot of time, effort, and money and keep you more organized and calm.
You can use these strategies to help your team and lead your team in a much better way and prevent a lot of confusion and chaos.
If you are wondering that you will have to implement all of them at once, do not overwhelm yourself, see what you already are good at.
Now see what you need to improve. Make a note of two to three things that you need to work on and start working on them.
Are you keen on working smarter ?
I have designed a Productivity and Time Management toolkit to help you deepen these practices and help you work smarter and be more effective with your time and efforts .
Check out the ”HOW CAN I FOCUS BETTER ?” a Productivity and Time Management toolkit to help you become a smart worker HERE .
Which tip appealed to you the most? What will you implement immediately? Share your views in the comments below.
Babita Sharma
Leadership Coach
www.leadwithpassion.co.in
P.S – Please share the post and help someone today.
REFRENCES
13 REASONS WHY NEW MANAGERS MUST WORK SMARTER TO SUCCEED IN THEIR CAREER
SMART WORK VS HARD WORK AND WHY YOU MUST CHOOSE SMART WORK?
