Do you ever feel like you have too much to do and not enough time in the day to do it all? How do you stay productive when you have a list of projects that you fear will never end? Take a look at Mackoul’s 6 Tips to Be More Productive at Work to help you stay on track.
1) Close your email. It may sound crazy, but closing your inbox can shut out the constant distraction of opening each and every email as soon as it’s received. I’m not recommending you close it for the entire day, but taking email breaks while you work can keep you focused on the most important tasks.
2) Use the phone. Email isn’t meant for conversations. You can resolve complicated issues and cut out the vagueness of emails by simply picking up the phone. Don’t reply more than twice to an email.
3) Stop multi-tasking. Have you ever looked at the clock at the end of the day and thought “I didn’t even cross out one item on my to-do list!” We’ve all been there. Try to stay focused on the most important tasks and don’t get pulled into a million other less important projects.
4) Keep the social media at home. Save your tweeting, blogging, posting and status updating for after work.
5) Learn to say no. We all like helping people but sometimes it’s okay to say no! Don’t know what to say no to? If it’s not a goal, a priority or important, just say no.
6) Personal cell phones can be distracting. We’re all guilty of checking our personal phone throughout the day. Checking our phones for emergency calls is one thing, but checking personal emails and texting non-critical information throughout the day can be a constant distraction.
