How work smarter, not harder

Here are 8 tips you can employ today to help you build a happier and more productive professional life.

1) Plan ahead

By planning ahead, you can jump right into the most pressing projects rather than spending valuable time trying to prioritize everything the day of. Planning ahead for your next day (or week) can be a great thing to do at the end of the day when you’ve accomplished all tasks for that day but are still in work mode.

Read more about how planning ahead is key in the age of working from home.

2) Minimize your to-do list

We all can only do so much in one day. If your to-do list is miles long, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. We suggest keeping a to-do list short, concise, and realistic. Achieving small goals not only moves you forward, but can also help improve your sense of accomplishment.

3) Quit multitasking

Contrary to popular belief, multitasking doesn’t work. In fact, when we try to multitask, we actually accomplish less because we slowly lose our ability to focus enough to learn, according to neuropsychologist Dr. Cynthia Kubu. So, rather than trying to work on multiple different tasks at once, try focusing on one at a time — you'll see better work quality and higher productivity overall.

4) Limit notifications

Whether you are getting a push notification on your phone or a chat notification on your computer from a co-worker, a single notification has the ability to derail your productivity for several minutes.

Think about the number of notifications you have set up on your devices. It's not hard to imagine how you can easily be distracted and spend several hours per week getting back on track. To help combat this, silence all notifications for blocks of time throughout your day to ensure you are distraction-free.

5) Take breaks

Building breaks into your day may sound counterintuitive to productivity, but if you schedule breaks with intention, they can actually ensure you get even more done. Giving your brain a break can help you focus most efficiently on the task right in front of you.

One break technique is called the Pomodoro technique. This time-blocking technique suggests taking frequent short breaks to promote sustained concentration. For example, you could set your timer for 25 minutes and focus on one task from your to-do list. After 25 minutes, you get a five-minute break. You do this four times, and then you can take a longer break (15 to 30 minutes).

6) Complete tasks in chunks

You can also combine taking breaks with completing tasks in chunks. Combining these two tips is a great way to ensure you’re working smarter, not harder.

Think about separating tasks by type when making your to-do list. For example, it may be more beneficial to complete tasks requiring creativity within the same chunk of time (even if you take short breaks between each). This is helpful because you are flexing certain parts of the brain. Then, when you need to switch to tasks requiring hard numbers and analytical thinking, for example, you can switch gears to focus solely on those activities versus trying to ping back and forth between creative and analytical thinking.

8) Ask questions early

Asking questions early in the process for any given project can help you work smarter, not harder. Rather than waiting for one-off questions as they come up, set aside some time to think critically about the project at its beginning stages:

What tools or resources will your team need to complete the project?

Does everyone have a clear understanding of what the end product should be?

Is there anything that anyone is unclear about?

Asking these questions early on can help you get ahead of potential issues and address them before they send the project off the rails. It can also help you modify the project's direction if necessary and keep everyone on the same page from the start.

I hope you were able to learn something from my story, well just keep in touch cause I'll still be dropping another one.