Do you often find yourself uttering “there just aren’t enough hours in the day” as you work flat-out in a desperate attempt to complete everything packed into your schedule? Really, the crux of the problem could be not the laws of time but instead how exactly you use that time allocated to you.
This is where you can immensely benefit from learning how to “work smarter, not harder” – that is, how to achieve more in the same duration. Here are just a few simple tips to get you started.
Do what you’re passionate about
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Whoever originally came up with this saying was probably a dab hand at time management – as, when you do what you genuinely love, your attention to it won’t flag. As a natural consequence, then, you will be more productive.
Jonathan Long, the founder of Uber Brands, warns in an Entrepreneur article: “If you are miserable and hate what you are doing, … your productivity will go right down the drain.”
Delegate responsibilities that don’t excite you
If your work usually carries certain responsibilities for which you struggle to muster that productivity-boosting excitement, you could look for opportunities to hand that work down to other people who would be more grateful for it.
That way, you can free up more time to spend doing tasks that truly enthuse you. Those tasks are likely to also be ones where you excel… or, at least, will sooner or later.
Bolster your tech arsenal
You might be old enough to remember how amazed you felt when you realized you could do all of your work just on your laptop. Today, your mobile phone or tablet could prove similarly useful.
Be selective with what apps, browser extensions and automation software you install on your little device. Certain tools can be especially great for enhancing your communications, enabling you to collaborate with co-workers even while away from the office on business trips.
Tap into your network of business contacts
Another benefit of having that communication tech at close hand is that you could more easily forge and develop working relationships capable of easing your productivity woes yet further.
Let’s assume that, for example, you attend a conference and then collect a few contact details from potential business partners you meet there. In helping them, you could motivate them to help you – and let you benefit from their specialist expertise and resources.
Count the tasks you complete, not the hours you work
Alas, the tally of work hours you clock up can count for surprisingly little if you aren’t making the most of those hours. You should measure your results, not your time – and, in an Inc. piece, entrepreneur John Rampton suggests you do that by making “an ongoing log of everything you completed in a day.”
Whatever you achieved in a given day, see if you can beat it next time. Fire up your competitive drive!
