subject: Five routes to a more productive week [print this page] At the end of every week, do you find that your work is never done? If so, you may need some help making better use of your time at work.
1. CLEAN YOUR DESK
Take a look at your desk. Is it cluttered? Do you have more than one tea-stained mug? Are there old notes stuck to your computer screen? These are all signs that you are lagging behind, so it's time for a spring clean. It'll only take an hour, but you'll feel revitalised once its done and it'll be easier to focus on the jobs you have.
2. SPLIT YOUR TASKS
If you're working on a really big project, it can be overwhelming, plus it eat up all of your time. If you feel like your never getting anywhere, why not split the task into smaller tasks and tick them off, one-by-one? It'll help you get organised, as well as giving you extra motivation.
3. PLAN YOUR WEEK
On a Monday, write down everything you need to have done by the end of the week and everywhere you need to be. If you can go from one external meeting to another, rather than one each day, it may save you a lot of travelling time.
4. RETHINK YOUR METHODS
Think about how you tackle your projects. Is there any way of speeding up the procedures you have in place? If so, a little more time spent implementing the changes could save you a lot of time further down the line. Just because something has always been done a certain way doesn't mean it's the right method.
5. OUTSOURCE YOUR CALLS
Ever noticed how much time you spend on calls that are not urgent or even relevant? Imagine cutting them out and only dealing with the calls that you need to, such as ignoring sales calls and taking the ones from your clients. By outsourcing your calls to an external call answering service, which have staff trained and fully briefed to deal with calls exactly how you specify, you can get on with more important tasks.
