Work Efficiency And How To Maximize Potential
In many cases, the difference between reaching goals and failure will come down to work efficiency. There is only so much time to complete necessary tasks, and so it’s important to get the most out of that time as possible. It’s not just about working hard and staying productive either.
Work efficiency also refers to working intelligently and properly planning ahead. One of the key adversaries of work efficiency is distractions. There are so many intrusive distractions in the modern era, and it can be very difficult to stay focused on completing specific tasks.
For example, it’s pretty hard to ignore a phone that’s constantly ringing, but checking your phone will take you and your attention off of your work. Eliminating distractions is just a single step on the path toward increasing your overall work efficiency.
What Is Work Efficiency?
The easiest way to define work efficiency is by striving to accomplish a task in the shortest amount of time possible while using the least amount of effort. Very often, work efficiently is confused with productivity. While the two concepts are fairly similar, there are a few key differences between them.
The main difference is that productivity focuses on time a lot more. Working hard and flying through assignments can lead to incredible productivity, but it would also lead to mistakes and using a lot of energy.
Efficiency places an emphasis on all three of those factors equally. While time is an important factor in efficiency, having to redo work because of mistakes or being constantly fatigued is neither sustainable nor efficient.
Ways To Improve Work Efficiency
Work efficiency is all about working smarter instead of harder. To do this, you will need to be able to stay focused and on task, complete the task correctly to eliminate the need for rework, and work at a sustainable pace so you aren’t exhausted by the end of the day.
It will probably take some time in order to reach these high levels of efficiency. However, using some of the following techniques and apps can help you to increase your work efficiency and maximize your potential:
Prioritize Your Tasks
When you have a long list of tasks that need to get done, take a little bit of time to set a priority to each one. One of the largest causes of procrastination is being overwhelmed by a seemingly endless list of tasks.
First, you should create a list of one to three of your “most important tasks” (MITs) that absolutely must be finished by the end of the day. By going after your number MIT early in the morning, you will have the most amount of time possible to finish it.
After you have completed the task, you would move on to the second MIT and focus on getting that done. Before long, you should be done with your MITs and onto the less important tasks.
When dealing with simple or unimportant tasks, it can be easy to become distracted and procrastinate. That’s why it is so important to prioritize your tasks in the morning. However, since you have already done the hard and important tasks, you will most likely feel more energized and prepared to knock out the lesser tasks.
Even if you don’t accomplish them, you would have still gotten the most important work completed earlier.
Use The 80-20 Rule
Also known as the Pareto Principle, the 80-20 rule is the belief that 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort. The idea is that first, you will have to identify the most important 20% of your work. Then you will need to find ways to reduce the other 80% of your schedule.
This way, you will be able to spend more time doing the more important aspects of your work. It’s important to note that this rule isn’t an exact mathematical equation. The numbers could technically be substituted for any other combination, and the rule would be the same.
The goal of the rule is to help you identify the parts of your work that provide the most results. By focusing on these more important tasks, you will be able to increase your overall work efficiency.
Eliminate Distractions
Focus is one of the most important factors involved with efficiency. None of these techniques will be much use if you are constantly being distracted and kept from your work. Your cell phone is one of the largest detriments to your cognitive capacity and your overall work efficiency.
Especially if you are constantly dealing with lots of phone calls and texts during the day, one of the easier ways to take care of this problem is by using an app to block these distractions. An app like Dialed has several features that can help you keep your attention away from your phone and your work.
Dialed is one of the leading apps on the market for blocking spam calls and robocalls, so you won’t have to worry about receiving unwanted calls anymore. It also has the feature of muting calls and texts from individual contacts that might not be as important as your work or can wait until later.
One of the best features is the ability to create off-hour settings. You can set up a time where you need to focus on work, and all your incoming calls and texts will be routed to an auto-reply message.
If you are like most people and your cell phone is your number distraction, using an app like Dialed can help you to stay focused on your work by keeping it silent.
Take Breaks
It might sound counterintuitive to increasing your work efficiency, but it's very important to take breaks every now and again. No matter how hard you might try, it’s literally impossible to stay focused for eight hours straight.
There are no efficiency habits or techniques that can help keep the human mind engaged for that amount of time. In fact, research has shown that taking breaks can actually improve your overall focus. The potential problem that arises is when you start counting distractions like checking your phone as a break.
That’s where the idea of building break times in your schedule is so important. By establishing clearly defined break times, you won’t be distracted and start procrastinating. One of the easiest ways to build in your own breaks is by using the Pomodoro Technique. This method is built around the idea of working for 25 minutes before taking a five-minute break.
You can alter the exact amount of time, but the idea is that you intensely focus on your work for a set amount of time, and afterward, you receive a break for a shorter amount of time. After your break is over, you will return to work and should be more focused than you were in the time right before your break started.
The Takeaway
It might take a little while to build up these healthy habits, but you should notice an increase in your overall work efficiency after a few weeks of practice. You will most likely have to change the details of these techniques to fit you and your specific needs.
As long as your work efficiently improves, then it can be whatever you want them to be. The key issue is to find ways to stay focused and engaged with your work. Looking at your cell phone during break time is an acceptable way to recharge your focus, but you should find ways to keep it from distracting you during work time.
An app like Dialed has several features that can help you to avoid disruptions and stay focused on completing your work. Focus is the most important aspect of trying to increase your work efficiency and maximize your overall potential.
SOURCES:
Learn How to Avoid Distraction in a World That's Full of It | psychologytoday.com