Office Etiquette. 6 Habits that Sabotage Productivity. We all have our weekday morning routines. You roll into the office a little before 9 am (or a little after, if traffic was really bad), settle in at your desk, maybe grab a cup of coffee around 9:30 or 10, check Twitter and Facebook, and then dive in to your inbox. And while it’s obvious that your time playing Farmville or reading Kanye’s latest tweet is going to hamper your productivity, you might be surprised to learn what other common work habits can sabotage your productivity. 1. Checking Your Email ConstantlyIf you’re like most people, you check your email frequently. Like, 5 times an hour frequently…or “every time my phone dings” frequently. Maybe a better word than “frequently” would be “obsessively.” But despite the urgings of your boss to “stay on top of everything”, it turns out that checking your email too frequently actually reduces your productivity.
Now, of course the experts can’t seem to agree on when you should check your email. 2. 3. 4. The solution? 5. 6. Forced Efficiency. The law of forced efficiency theory is there is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the important things. Here's how I force my efficiency: 1. I think about results, not time. Time doesn't worry me for now. 2. 3. . “ I set myself a virtual deadline, often a week or more before the real deadline. ” 4. 5.
I am forced to focus. Using this law of forced efficiency approach means that I finish my work and get out the door ready to enjoy my social and family life. Something that occurred to me is if you have time to head down an ineffective path, then you probably will. Does anyone have experience of working to the law of forced efficiency, or any other ideas to work smarter not harder? P.S. Mark Moore is the Director of Excelerated Performance International.
Add your comment You need to be a member to post a comment. Join Australia’s micro business community! Join Flying Solo today. Physically Work Healthy. 5 Effective Work Habits. Discover the 5 most effective work habits for freshies starting out in the working world. Being new in the working world, I am sure you are eager to show off your newfound skills and knowledge. However, out there in the working world some basic work effective habits can increase your productivity. By being consistently effective at your work increases your chances of success in your career. The 5 effective work habits are: 1. Volunteer For AssignmentsOne of the best ways to signal that you are a keen learner and are not afraid of hard work is to volunteer for assignments. Especially assignments that no one seems interested to do. However, before that do assess your own skills and knowledge to see if you can confidently accomplish it. However, do remember one thing. 2. Being nice to people is just common courtesy. 3.
Have a list of things to do according to its strategic importance to your company. 4. Be above all these and stay positive in the face of challenges. 5. Just Graduated? Beat Procrastination. 1. Make one teeny, tiny, little start Sometimes a simple task can explode into something big and scary simply because you haven’t made a start. So, just take a really small first step, whether it’s making one quick phone call, writing one paragraph of a long proposal or reading one page of a very large document.
The point of this exercise is that by starting, you’ll realise that your project is not so big and scary after all, and you’ll probably end up finishing the task much faster than you’d anticipated. 2. . “ Procrastination can debilitate your business, but nip it in the bud and business will truly blossom. ” Have you ever said to yourself, “I won’t follow that dream just yet because I’m not good enough”? Don’t worry - you’re not alone! To limit perfectionism, try the following: Expect and accept that your first attempt may not be great. 3.
I was asked to write a series of business tag lines a few months ago. So I started with the end first. I believed every word I wrote! 4. 5.