We are so hard-wired with the ‘work more’ mentality that sometimes, we completely forget about productivity. We forget that we actually don’t have to work more hours to get more done!
The secret ingredient to solid work performance isn’t putting in more hours and working as much as you can. It’s about improving your work performance so you can get amazing work done in less time.
In this blog, we’re going to share 9 ways that will help you improve your work performance this year. If you want to take your career a notch higher, get a raise or promotion, keep reading!
1. Make Sure That You Get Enough Sleep
The most crucial aspect of solid work performance is: sleep. No matter which profession you’re in or what you do for work, you can only perform better if you’re well-rested.
However, unfortunately, a lot of us are horrible at sleeping well. It’s not entirely your fault! The world is full of bright screens, artificial lighting, and highly caffeinated drinks – which keep us from getting good sleep.
So, to improve your quality and quantity of sleep, there are several things you can do! For example, you can avoid looking at screens at night (or use an app/glasses that block blue light.)
You can also try to avoid caffeine in the evening, block lights with blackout curtains, use a white noise machine, get a better pillow/mattress, and create a routine to prepare your body for sleep!
2. Avoid Multitasking
Honestly speaking, when it comes to most types of work, multitasking is not very effective. After all, you are not an insanely productive superhuman.
Yes, you might feel like you will get more done when you have Slack open while you’re preparing your marketing budget! However, you will actually end up performing both tasks slowly and poorly.
So, instead of multi-tasking, start embracing single-tasking. Basically, start a task and work on it until it is finished. Then, move on to the next task on your to-do list.
We totally understand how challenging single-tasking can be in the hyperconnected work culture we’re living in. But, trust us, it would certainly improve your work performance!
Read more: Happy & Collaborative Work Culture: 10 Effective Ways to Create it!
3. Don’t Keep Checking Your Emails at Work
This is kind of a subset of avoiding multitasking. But, considering that checking emails is such an important part of our work lives, this point certainly deserved its own section.
See, checking your emails isn’t something you should mix with other tasks. Whether it’s a newsletter, ad, or something that requires action on your part, emails can be super distracting!
Ideally, you should not check your emails more than twice a day. Most importantly, don’t check your inbox first thing in the morning. Save it for the time when you’ve already done all the important tasks of the day.
If you find an email that requires action on your part, get it out of your inbox and add it to your to-do list. It is as simple as that!
4. Get Up an Hour Earlier
We’re pretty sure that you decide your wake-up time on the basis of when you’ve got to work. You get up, get ready and start commuting to work (or get to your computer, if you’re working from home.)
Now, here’s the question: do you leave any time in the morning for yourself? Because rushing to work right after your alarm rings is NOT a great way to start the day. It often leaves you frantic, stressed, and resentful.
This is why you should always get up an hour earlier. This way, you would be less stressed when you start work. Moreover, you can use this extra hour for things that improve your life and work.
For example, you can exercise, take a walk, pour some coffee for yourself, cook a healthy breakfast, read a book, and write in a journal!
5. Stay Well-Organized
You undergo a lot of training when you start your job, however, organizing yourself is completely your responsibility. You need to develop your own organizational system to stay on top of things.
You can start with the system that your company already uses. Ask your coworkers, your boss about how they stay organized and coordinate with each other.
After that, do what works for you. For example, you can create daily, weekly, and monthly to-do lists. Along with that, you can set daily priorities to meet your goals.
The perfect way to stay organized is to do the most challenging work when your energy levels are the highest, and save the easy tasks for other times.
Read More: 11 Best Desk Organization Ideas of 2022
6. Always Keep Learning
This is one of the best tips to improve your work performance. Keep learning more about the field you are in, and you are bound to get better at what you do.
There are multiple ways you can learn your craft. You could attend a conference or training, watch educational videos, take relevant courses, listen to industry podcasts, and more!
You can even read books about your field and work on side projects to learn new skills. It entirely depends on what you do and how you learn best.
Read more: Focus at Work with the Help of These 11 Effective Ways!
7. Try to Communication Clearly
In an era where most people are working from home, clear communication is of utmost importance. To communicate effectively and efficiently, here are two things that you should focus on.
Firstly, keep your messages as crystal clear as you can. Whether you’re writing an email or sending a message on Skype, take some time out to read it over before hitting the send button. Ask yourself: Would the message make sense to the recipient, or do I need to provide more detail to make it clear?
On the flip side, if you don’t understand a message that you’ve received, ask for clarification. It’s always better to clarify everything before starting a project or task!
Yes, communicating clearly can take a little more of your time, but it also saves you a lot of time in the long run. Moreover, it improves your relationships with your managers, coworkers, and clients.
8. Fuel Your Body
As we said before, getting enough sleep is important, but it is not sufficient. For optimum work performance, you need to ensure that you’re fueling your body.
By eating nutritious food, you will have great energy levels throughout the day and you will be able to power through the tasks. Whereas, if you don’t eat enough or eat junk food, you would have trouble focusing.
Furthermore, make sure that you drink enough water throughout the day. (Coffee isn’t enough to function well. Plus, consuming an excessive amount of caffeine can have side effects.)
9. Don’t Take Work Home With You
We’ve told you everything you needed to know about improving your work performance. But, when work is over, leave work at work. It is essential for your mental health!
The thing is, if you bring work home with you, it would be hard for you to relax. Moreover, you won’t have the time to recharge yourself before the next workday begins.
These days, separating work from home has become even more difficult. But, just because you can work from wherever you want, doesn’t mean you should.
Instead, start setting boundaries. Define your work hours and don’t even look at work when those hours are over. Remember: work-life balance is extremely important!
Wrapping Up
There you go! Try out the 9 ways we’ve mentioned above and watch your productivity and performance skyrocket. We’re sure you want that, don’t you?
With these simple and easy tips in the back of your pocket, you won’t have to say “no, this is too much work. I can’t handle it anymore!”
And, don’t forget to let us know which of these tips you loved the most by tweeting us @elink_io. We would be more than happy to hear from you! Cheers!
Further reads:
Eisenhower Matrix: Definition, Quadrants & Tips!
12 Awesome Tips To Help You Grow Your Business!
Why Companies Need to Invest in Work-From-Home Technology?
Work From Home Policy: What is it and How to Write One?
Performance Improvement Plan (PIP): What is it & How to Create it?
Productivity Plan: What is it & How to Create a Perfect One?
12 Work Management Software and Tools in 2022
Combating Social Isolation in Remote Working
