Four surprising tips on how to achieve higher productivity

Bad time management, when you are pressed for time and under permanent stress, may have several very serious effects. First, if you fail to plan properly, your work becomes less efficient; this then leads to stress, career burnout, and even psychosomatic health problems. Here are some tips for every day on how to avoid stress and effectively organise your working time.

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Punctuality and planning

According to the Center for Creative Leadership, you must make punctuality a priority, not only for important tasks and meetings but also for minor items. Work systematically. Before starting a task, always specify beforehand the maximum time you are willing to spend on it.  

Save e-mails for later

The first thing most people do when they arrive at work is check their e-mail. It turns out, however, that this is far from the most efficient method of work: e-mails should be saved for when you have less energy rather than more. In the morning you should use your energy levels for more important things, such as strategic planning.

Calling instead of writing

Much time is lost due to e-mail ping-ponging, which usually involves business partners, clients and colleagues. Instead of an endless series of questions and answers, it is much more efficient to pick up the phone and call the given person.

Evaluate the effectiveness of work

Many people think they work hard but in reality they are only doing "maintenance" tasks that do not help developments in terms of business and sales. People often claim such work has to be done and so they have no time for the important things. In reality they are spending a lot of time doing ineffective work. The fact is that sometimes if you devote more time to "important" strategic issues, the volume of everyday administration and maintenance tasks should decrease in the long term.

 

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Article source CCL Blog - official blog of the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®)
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