No matter how you think your typical work day looks, it is important to maximize your productivity and get the maximum amount of work completed with the minimum amount of stress.
Building up both your efficiency and effectiveness is the best motivation you can get to drive yourself into creating better schedules and work choices.
However, not everything is predictable and not everything can be scheduled; for instance: just last week I ended up in hospital due to one of my children being incredibly ill!
There are days when you will have to face some unexpected changes and something that might even take over the whole day’s schedule.
To tackle such situations, you need to know how you can streamline your day and remain focused on all important elements which are critical to maximizing your productivity, effectiveness and efficiency.
The following are a few simple tips to help you do just that:
1. Start with a plan
Colour code your tasks during each day (depending on the nature of your work), start off with the most important tasks and use these to guide you through the rest of your day so that you can maximize your productivity. You need to make sure that you don’t waste too much time and effort on trivial tasks which won’t aid your efficiency and effectiveness or earn you money.
2. Schedule the difficult tasks according to your energy levels
Everyone is different, therefore you will have different times of the day when your energy is at its peak. This can be early in the morning, after lunch or even at the end of the day before you finish work. Try to schedule the most challenging tasks that require most effort in the times that your energy is at its highest level, this will ensure you can complete the task thoroughly; with maximum effectiveness and least amount of stress.
3. Carefully delegate some tasks
If you are unable to complete all of the day’s tasks, hand them over to other members of staff, or outsource to someone such as a virtual assistant. This is a much better idea than giving insufficient time to the other tasks and affecting their outcome. However, think hard about the types of tasks you are delegating and make sure you hand them over with clear and concise instructions and in a timely manner so that they can be completed without too much difficulty and within your time scale.
4. Plan ahead
Once you are done with all the tasks of a day, take a few minutes to plan the next day (where possible).
This way you can start working on your tasks as soon as you come into the office and you won’t have to waste time scheduling your day before you can get started.
If you are in a hurry to go home, you could even schedule the next day from the comfort of your own home.
5. Take care of yourself outside of the office
You need to make sure you are well rested, nourished and hydrated to make sure you perform at your best when you come to work. If your body is lacking anything at all, for example; water, vitamins, exercise or sleep then it could be difficult for you to focus and concentrate on your work and this could hinder your productivity.
If you would like any further advice about outsourcing, then please take a look at my website (www.limeblueva.co.uk) and feel free to contact me if you’d like to chat about anything related to this.
I’m a Virtual Assistant based in Edinburgh, and would love to help you in your business by taking on your time consuming activities, giving you more time to concentrate on building your business.