8 Things That May Be Decreasing Your Productivity
You’re at work, and you just can’t seem to focus. Maybe
it’s because you didn’t get enough sleep the night before (read: you spent way
too much time watching Humans), or because you skipped
breakfast this morning. Or maybe it’s neither:
Maybe, just maybe, you’re wasting time at work doing things other than… work
(we get it; it’s easy to get off-track!). That said, here are the eight biggest
time-sucks when you’re in the office, plus solutions for increasing
productivity so you can do your best job ever.
1. Texting
How much time do you spend texting your roommate about
what to make for dinner tonight? “Turn off your phone during peak work hours!”
says Hallie Crawford, career coach and founder of HallieCrawford.com. And if you really must know if he’s cooking shrimp
scampi or chicken parmesan, wait till lunch to hound him.
2. Leaving Your Office Door Open
“Shut it when you have an important project to focus on,”
Crawford says simply. Leaving your door open invites coworkers to come in and
chat, which is OK… once in a while.
3. Talkative Coworkers
And speaking of chatty colleagues,
sometimes you just have to shut ’em down (politely!). “It’s amazing to have
friends at the office, but keep in mind you’re at the office,” says Jill Jacinto, a millennial career expert for WORKS. “Don’t let personal
conversations with your work BFF go on and on.” Her easy fix? “Make plans for an
after-work happy-hour to get the lowdown.”
4. Checking Your Email
You’d rather be doing anything but totaling those sales
reports, so you refresh your email sixteen times in a row (maybe you got a new
one that requires your urgent response!). “Log out so it doesn’t beat you,”
Crawford says. Seriously! Exit out of the tab. Give yourself a fifteen minute
timer for the next time you can check it—and only allow yourself three minutes
once you’re logged on.
5. Going Out for Lunch
Taking your sweet time at Chili’s so you can delay that
task your boss has been bugging you about? Not your best idea. “If [your lunch
breaks] last too long, bring your lunch a couple of days a week,” Crawford
says. It’ll take you twenty minutes to polish off your peanut butter sandwich,
and then you can jump back into your work with minimal time wasted.
6. Long Meetings
“Make sure there’s an agenda and someone to keep time and
lead the meeting,” Crawford says. “Have everyone prep in advance.” Your team
should be striving for quick, concise, and to-the-point meetings, so you have
more of your day to work on projects.
7. Online Chats
Those work chatrooms the company set up are great for
when you need a quick response from your coworker about the upcoming marketing
campaign. However, they’re notintended to be used for discussion
about your cat’s latest antics. “Ween yourself off of [IM chat],” Jacinto says.
“Don’t be the first to IM. Know that you can share and chat on your personal
time!” Jacinto also recommends you schedule a specific period of time in your
day to log on and chat—during your afternoon slump is best, because it’ll pick
you up.
8. Not Prioritizing
We’re all guilty of it: working on the stuff that isn’t
time-sensitive simply because it’s easier. “Create your to-do list for the next
day the day before so you don’t waste time in the morning,” Crawford says.
Around 4:30 each afternoon, create a quick doc on the things you’re going to
take on tomorrow. Look at that—you’re well on your way to a higher, better
performance at work!
This article was originally published on POPSUGAR.
http://www.levo.com/articles/career-advice/8-things-that-may-be-decreasing-your-productivity-at-work
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