In these changing times, when the work culture has changed drastically, bringing in the work-from-home and hybrid model. Such changing times require you to be always available for work due to a heavy workload. In this situation, you need to focus on three things to keep your focus on track, and those are the right management of your time, setting up a good place for your work, and never losing your positive attitude.
There are a few additional things that might need your attention if you wish to organize your work life.
Time
The very first thing you need to do is control your time instead of wasting it on doing non-important or non-productive things. Plan your goals and assign timelines to your work so that you make the most of your time. You need to differentiate between important tasks and delay the ones you feel can be handled later. For instance, just reply to important emails while you are working on something urgent, and keep the rest of them in the loop until after you are finished with your task. Dodge all unwanted distractions that you might face and keep your personal tasks separated from your time at work.
Give a Deadline for all your meetings
It is a known fact that meetings consume a lot of your precious time, and all you need to do is limit them to a 25 minutes window. When you start defining your meetings, you will notice that you are just working and discussing all that is important on that meeting’s agenda, and eventually, they will come out to be more productive and focused.
Take regular intervals
There are days when you are swarmed with work, meetings and a lot of tedious tasks; on such days, you either miss your breaks or forget to go on your break while working. To manage your breaks, you can schedule your breaks on a calendar or add alarms on your phones for a reminder to take your break. If you are too tired during your day, you could also take a small 10-minute nap.
Space
Now by space, we mean not just the physical setup but your online area where you spend your work time. Having the right kind of environment for your workstation is very crucial, as it decides the number of distractions you will face at work. To avoid these, you must draw a line to keep them away and just concentrate on your work and handle them in your free time. The other aspect is your online space, where your actual work happens, and that part also offers many distractions, like social media notifications. To ensure you don’t get tempted by those notifications, turn off those pop-ups and put them on silent.
Have your “me time.”
When you start your day, and you are in your me time zone, give yourself the time to go through all the pending emails from the previous day. Check on those notifications you snoozed and respond to all your unread messages. This way, you can make sure that you clear all your backlog and give a fresh start to the present day. While you are on it, also have a look at your progress and plan your day so that you don’t miss out on any important tasks.
Talk, don’t send emails
Not everything needs to be conveyed over emails; when you work in the same building, always take out time to go and talk to your colleagues face to face. When you feel there are multiple instructions that are to be sent to someone or a chat is turning into a misunderstanding, o matter however busy you are, take time to go ahead and talk directly to the person; this will help you build a good rapport and a cordial relationship with your coworkers.
Make checklists, and don’t overdo your work
When you are dealing with tight deadlines or a heavy workload, you might, at times, end up overdoing or repeating your tasks. A checklist in that scenario will be really handy, as it will help you manage your tasks and save you the extra effort and time you might waste repeating them. The use of a checklist at work will also ensure that you don’t miss out on your important deadlines or an important meeting, or that urgent email you had to send.