Productivity tips: how to stop wasting time at work

When possible, you should build a structure for your day.

If you just enter and play a role, your efficiency will decrease.

You should also reduce interference.

For example, you might clean up your emails in the morning and then stop reading them in a few hours.

You can set up a system so that certain emails remind you, but other emails don’t.

Turn off social media notifications on your phone and view them only during important hours of the day.

Treat your activities carefully.

Don’t be led by social media, email, and meetings. Take control.

Meetings have a great impact on productivity.

Ask yourself: what is the content of the meeting and my role in the meeting?

You need to know this before you agree, because sometimes people invite people in large numbers, which is completely irrelevant.

Unless there is an agenda, I will not attend the meeting.

Then I can ask: do I need to be there or can you send me the notes?

I used to be called “10 Minutes Amanda” because my meeting lasts up to 10 minutes.

If it’s brainstorming, it’s different.

My advice is not to be stingy with IT and project management systems.

People often say that they don’t want to pay a monthly fee, but it can save you three hours of work efficiency every day, so it’s worth it.

I use pen and paper and bullet journals to organize my time, but I also use a project management system because I have a team and run projects and programs.

I like online collaboration tools like Google Docs because I have people working from home everywhere and it makes things easier.

Even if you have a boss who has no routine, you should have one.

Don’t be pulled to the left, right, and center.

If someone says “Can we have a quick meeting?”, please say “Actually, I’m doing this, but I’m free at 3pm” and then send the invitation.

People will realize that you are the kind of person they have to make an appointment to meet.

The same rules apply to working at home or in the office, but people need to adapt.

Working from home, you need to do your routine more than ever before—in order to improve work efficiency and schedule breaks.

Understand what you think is the key achievement, then figure out what you need to do to achieve it and write it down. You will not be easily distracted by fillers and other people’s problems.

Otherwise, the next minute is the end of the day, and you get nothing.

Amanda Rose is a business consultant, workplace trainer, LinkedIn influencer and founder of six organizations-now she solves your professional problems for SMART Daily every week.

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