3 Easy Steps In Office Time Management

3 Easy Steps In Office Time Management


Ways to improve your work productivity. From email to how you start your morning...





1. Focus on a great exit. Very easy to miss, but this small fact can have impressive effects. Even before coming to work, as you do your morning routine, think ahead at the moment you will be leaving work.


Find the energy you want to have, the satisfaction about getting the work done, and anything that you want to get accomplished that day. Many times this will remind you of items you need to take with you from home, that would have been forgotten otherwise. Office time should not be a draining experience where one mindlessly slaves away for countless hours, but a high performance, enjoyable activity, as that's the state in which we are most productive.

2. Show up early, and DON'T just get to work. Instead, use the first 20-30 minutes to setup your desk and computer as you like it, have your coffee, do some personal web surfing (if that's allowed) or make any changes that you've been putting off for months. Doing this will start your day on a positive note, that has great chances of improving. Even if things go downhill later, you can fall back on the fact that you already made some improvements.



Since you're not on company time yet, you can also take the time to make observations about the office, that you otherwise wouldn't have the time for. Could some of your tasks be simplified ? Could some of your colleagues' ? Use this time to make the strategic, long-term changes that make the difference. Your work day will start much better after using your brain this way.

If a boss / supervisor tries to direct you towards work, point out that you are not on the clock yet, or if you do decide to contribute and get to work, keep in mind that you are doing it as a personal contribution, and this is extra performance of your part. If you do this consistently, you can expect to be noticed and rewarded, or start a negotiation for a raise, with solid facts to back you up.



3. Remove interruptions. This can be tricky, especially in open space offices, but there are strong means at your disposal. Wear a headset and pretend you're on the phone, have a huge stack of papers you appear to work on, anything that will clearly send the message that you're not to be interrupted. If anyone does come around with idle chatter you don't particularly want, use 'can't talk right now, please send me an email'. This will deter most intruders, and after a few encounters they will remember interruptions don't work on you.

Disable the Auto Send/Receive in your Outlook, Unless you absolutely need to see each email the second it arrives. This change of settings alone can do wonders for your office experience. Not being interrupted all day long by that new message notification, will provide clean, free periods of time in which to get actual work done.


And when does one check email with this method ? For that and more, please see the next article in this series, 3 More Steps in Office Time Management, or visit the author's website - OfficePerformance.net


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Source: 3 Easy Steps In Office Time Management