7 Ways to be More Productive at Work

Mark your calendar for a live Productivity Week Twitter chat on Thursday, August 17, at 10:30 a.m. PT. We will be using the hashtag #UpworkChat.

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You sit at your desk fully intending to crush your to-do list but before you know it, the day is over and you’ve accomplished only a fraction of what you set out to do. You promise yourself you’ll work longer and harder the next day to get more done. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Does this sound familiar?

Being productive is not always about putting in more time and working harder. It is about being smarter with managing the time you have. But what does that mean for you?

Most of our time is wasted on tasks we don’t really need to do, on tasks we dislike that cause us to drag our feet, or even on trying to do too much at once. But it can (and will!) get better. While there is no magic pill to make you better at time management, there are steps you can take to form better and more productive habits.

First, know how you’re spending your time

What do you do with your time? The first step toward a more productive day is to determine where your time is currently going. For the next week, keep track of everything you do during your working hours. Every time you switch tasks, write it down.

• 8:00 a.m. ate breakfast
• 8:15 a.m. brewed coffee
• 8:20 a.m. looked at Facebook
• 8:30 a.m. got up to get coffee
• 8:40 a.m. checked email
• …and so on.

At the end of the week, look at this list and mark everything that didn’t help you get closer to reaching your goals for the week. Can you identify patterns? Did you have an abundance of interruptions? Did you switch tasks more often than you should have? Did you really need to check Facebook while waiting for that coffee to perk or could you have gotten a head start on your emails instead?

Once you’ve identified the activities that are wasting your time, you can take steps to either spend less time on those things or stop doing them altogether.

Rise and shine with a solid routine

Though not everyone is wired to be a morning person, having a refreshing morning ritual and then tackling the most important tasks first is an easy-to-implement strategy. Some people start their days with meditation, yoga, or a relaxing shower with their favorite music, followed by a nutritious breakfast.

If you can, schedule most of your meetings for the afternoon, so you can get the hardest items on your to-do list tackled in the morning while you are still fresh. Putting the hard stuff off until later in the day will backfire as fatigue eventually sets in, making it more difficult to do an already tough task.

Do one thing at a time

You may be under the impression that multitasking is a good way to get more done. However, science says just the opposite. While most people have no trouble walking and talking or eating and reading at the same time, multitasking two or more similar tasks—like talking and reading, something many of us try to do while answering emails—use similar cognitive functions and trying to do them at the same time will actually take longer.

So the next time you think you can save some time by making a phone call and writing a blog post at the same time, think again: You will do a better and more efficient job at both by doing them one at a time.

Take adequate breaks

We don’t need science to tell us that working on something for a long period of time results in fatigue: Focus suffers and we become more easily distracted.

What science does say is that taking a break—even a short one—will help. Try to resist the temptation to “break” by doing something similar to what you have already been doing. Sitting at your desk and scrolling through Instagram isn’t going to help you fully refresh.

When it is time to step away from your work, stand up and take a short walk before returning to the task at hand. Walking can not only improve your focus once you return, it can also help give your creativity and problem-solving abilities a boost.

If you’re the type of person that ignores fatigue, or can’t really tell when it has set in, there are things you can do to ensure you take breaks. For example, set alarms on your phone to remind you to get up. If you find yourself ignoring them, try an app that will block your ability to continue working like TimeOut for Mac or WorkRave for Windows.

Keep interruptions to a minimum

Efficiency means focusing on the task at hand, and focus requires minimal interruptions. Start by taking control of notifications; turn off all but the most important ones. Use the built-in functions on your phone and computer to filter out unnecessary noise, and put a “Do not disturb” sign on the door.

Some business owners are hesitant to cut themselves off for a period of time. What if there’s an emergency with a client? If that’s a concern for you, think about it this way: If you had a client meeting for an hour, you wouldn’t interrupt the meeting for an impromptu phone call or to answer an email from another client. Treat work time the same way.

If you are in a business where time-sensitive client issues come up frequently, consider using an email responder that triages the issue. For example, if it is urgent, ask them to call you. Otherwise, schedule three to four times during the day where you attend only to email and include those times in your responder to set expectations.

Use a system and a schedule

Start scheduling your to-do list with blocks of time, arranged in priority sequence with a calendar app. Google Calendar is a great free option and will easily sync with most calendar apps on mobile devices. Allow desktop or mobile notifications so you are made aware of when it is time to start the next task.

You can also try Pomodoro, a popular system by which you set a timer that will buzz in 25-minute increments. Once you have been through four, you are instructed to take a break.

When used in conjunction with a task list, like paper Bullet Journaling, or productivity apps like Todoist, Asana, or Evernote, efficiencies are more easily attainable.

When you start out, don’t get discouraged if you find yourself running out of blocked time on items before you’ve actually finished them. If you have never lived by a schedule before, it takes some trial and error to get the timing right. Eventually, you will become more knowledgeable about just how long certain tasks take. Not only can this help with your productivity, it can also help uncover if you are not charging enough for your time!

Find a buddy

Being responsible for your own time and schedule is a perfect breeding ground for procrastination, and time can run away from you. You can, however, set up an accountability partner of your own to help you reach your goals and put these productivity techniques into play. Whether that person is a friend, colleague, family member, or a productivity consultant you hire to help coach you, they will have the responsibility to be disappointed in you and express that if you don’t achieve your goals.

Productivity is just like any other skill—with practice and perseverance, you can have more control over your time. The added work it takes to learn how to get there will be paid back countless times with less stress, more time for leisure, and more quality work that will be noticed by your colleagues and clients.

Have you tried any of these techniques? Let us know your experiences in the comments.

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