The workplace can be a stressful environment with pressure, deadlines, and expectations to perform to a high standard time and time again. In the workplace it is crucial to understand and recognise the importance of managing your time effectively in order to maximize both your productivity, as well as avoiding procrastinating. In fact, studies have shown that failing to prioritize tasks and create a plan has been proven to make us less efficient and more prone to errors.
With advancing technology, the workplace has the potential to be extremely efficient as employees can turn to virtual forms of assistance. This includes everything from improved communication lines to cloud-based software and automated business admin tools.
Online Business Tools
In this sense, it is a good idea to look into online streamlining bookkeeping to maximize efficiency. These types of programs are designed to aid you in creating electronic invoices where you can store and record electronic receipts. This means that you get paid quickly whilst still keeping your finances in check.
For example, if your small business requires you to track payroll deductions and invoice payment details, you are now able to spend less time printing your checks and be more efficient by printing them online.
Not only is this method of examining your checks a way to save time, but it also has many other features including preventing photocopying, forgery, and counterfeiting. In all in, this can help your business keep both its paper and digital trails up-to-date and well organized.
Prioritize Important Tasks
In a small business, when we are under pressure to get tasks completed, we often think that we should multitask in order to meet deadlines. However, this method has actually been proven to be counterproductive. Surprisingly only around 2.5% of people can multitask effectively resulting in an improved workflow.
In this sense, multitasking can actually affect your performance in a negative way as we are dividing our attention between several tasks at the same time and taking our focus off of one particular task. In fact, one study has revealed that there is a correlation between students who multitask in class and lower academic performance.
Instead, it is advisable to prioritize certain tasks according to their importance level and the date they are due to be completed by. This should mean that you will avoid procrastinating certain tasks by avoiding attempting to complete them at the same time.
It’s important for your manager or team lead to communicate effectively so that their junior fully understands the importance of specific tasks, while realizing any time-sensitive tasks. There are many online tools available to support in time management for both employees and leaders, or you can rely on the standard paper list option if that works for you.
If you also struggle with concentrating on one task, you can also use the Pomodoro technique which is an excellent way at completing your work in chunks. This method encourages you to complete 25 minutes of focused work after which you are allowed to have a five-minute break.
This technique helps you to maintain your motivation and energy as well as allowing you to reduce any distractions that are capturing your attention. The premise of this technique is that you will be motivated by the prospect of a break at the end of the 25-minute chunk instead of working an entire day with no breaks in between.
Scheduling
Another method that has been proven to be successful in making employees more efficient is scheduling. Having a schedule guides, you in determining what your priorities are so that you can spend the right time on the right tasks. Scheduling helps you identify your purpose and create a visual representation of your goals and your tasks. It also allows you to prioritize your tasks as mentioned above.
You can also take advantage of scheduling software which is a flexible, affordable and accessible way of both logging your tasks and scheduling your appointments. Having everything in the one place on an online platform is a better option for many who do not want to have everything written down in several different notebooks.
Key Takeaway
Overall, there are many strategies and methods that small businesses can encourage to ensure that their employees are using their time effectively to produce high quality work. It is important to deconstruct the false belief that multitasking is the best and optimum way to get your tasks done. Instead, prioritization and scheduling should be encouraged in the work place so that employees can reach their full potential.
