Improve your productivity at work with a few simple changes

For most of us, improving our productivity at work seems like an eternal work in progress. We sign up for seminars, attend workshops and read thousands of articles on productivity in hopes to create some extra time in our busy, busy days.

Everyone’s process will be different, but there always seems to be a better way, a more efficient way to get things done. Implement a few of these simple changes and you may be surprised with the extra time you find in your workday.

• Write everything down. Don’t keep your to-do list bottled up in your mind, write it down and post it in a highly visible place on your desk. Writing everything down will help free your mind, allowing more creativity to flow.


• Prioritize. Put your to-do list in order, with the most important tasks at the top of the list. Knowing your priorities will help you focus more on what matters and less on what could wait until later.


• Be aware. Do your best to focus on one task at a time and be fully conscious in whatever you’re working on. The less distracted you are, the more you will be able to accomplish.


• Find your best time to work. Everyone has a part of the day where they get the most done in the least amount of time. Work on the most important tasks during the time of the day when you are most productive. You’ll produce better work, faster.


• Take a break. Give yourself a break from time to time. When you start feeling stressed or tired, get up and take a walk. Whether it’s to the break room or around the building, a quick walk will help clear your mind and improve your personal productivity back at your desk.


• Quality not quantity. It may be possible to speed through your to-do list and check off every task by the end of the day, but will you come out of it with quality work? Focus on each task as it comes and congratulate yourself for completing each one.