Three Strategies to Work Efficiently at Your Job

Posted on Thursday, September 14th, 2017

You probably know the feeling well: you have a few important projects that need to get done for work, your homework from school is piling up, and you’d like to maybe try to have a social life at some point. Everything must get done, and even though you feel like you’re working hard, you never seem to get ahead.

Lucky for you, there’s a solution. It’s time to learn to work efficiently.

Working efficiently means optimizing the way you work to finish your projects and save time. Learning how to do it takes time, but as you get familiar with your own work patterns you’ll start to see your efficiency changing.

There are some key ways to start that process. Below, we look at three of them.

1. Don’t Multitask

It is really tempting to multitask. When you have a lot on your plate, it can sometimes seem like a good idea to chip away at everything at once.

But multitasking never works, and it’s not a good habit to get into. Your energy is divided up between all your different priorities, and the quality suffers. It takes you much longer to complete a task that way. It also makes it more likely that you’ll get bogged down by the work, and that’s a vicious cycle that can be hard to break out of.

Instead, focus on one task at a time. Finish it, and move on to your next task. Your energy will be focused, and the quality of the work will be much better.

2. Build a Schedule

Once you commit to not multitasking, you’ll find that building a schedule tends to start happening naturally. Because you need to focus on just one thing at a time, you also need to ensure that your priorities are being addressed in a timely way. And that means making a schedule.

It’s up to you to decide what kind of scheduling works best. You may gravitate towards an agenda, where every day is scheduled down to the hour. For some people, this is the best way of ensuring that every task gets the appropriate amount of attention throughout the day.

You may also find weekly and monthly schedules helpful. If you have long-term projects, having that kind of long-term view over the process can really take away a lot of the stress and last-minute panic.

3. Value Your Breaks

No matter what system you settle on, you should always be sure to schedule breaks and downtime for yourself. During these times, you should step away from the work and get a change of scenery.

This is really important. It gives your brain a chance to refresh, so you can focus better. It also gives you an opportunity to re-energize—whether by going for a walk, talking with friends, or having a snack. It’s also a fantastic way to avoid procrastination—once you get back and ready to work on a new task, you’ll be in a refreshed state to do just that.

Learning to work efficiently is a life skill that will bring you tons of benefits in the long run. There’s no better time to start working on it than now!

 

If you would like to learn more about the Algonquin College co-op program, please visit our website at https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/, connect with us at coop@algonquincollege.com or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623. You can also follow us on Twitter @AlgonquinCoop.


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