BLOG: Five Ways to be More Productive at Work

It’s that time of the year again. Summer is coming to a close, kids are going back to school, and it seems like there are simply not enough hours in the day to get everything done. I have noticed that the busier life seems to get, the less I seem to accomplish in a day! I have compiled a list of five ways to control the crazy and get more done in less time.

1. Prioritize. Make a list of the most important things that you need to get done each day, with the most important things at the top. Work your way down the list, and cross things off as you go. This will help keep you focused all day, and prevent you from getting caught up on phone calls, emails, or other distractions.
2. Organize Life at Home. While this is much easier said than done, by organizing everything at home before you get to work, you will be much more focused on what’s going on in the office rather than all the laundry that needs to get done, what to make for dinner, or what you need from
   Target later.
3. Take breaks.  If you feel like you are getting distracted or burnt out, take a quick break. Go for a walk, get something to drink, or take a bathroom break. Just five minutes away from your desk can rejuvenate you and
   refocus you on the task at hand.
4. Stop procrastinating. If you can take care of something right away, DO IT! Sometimes little seemingly easy tasks are what eat up tons of time. By dealing with the small things as they come up, there will be less to do later, and they will not be hanging in the back of your mind once they are finished.
5. Leave at a set time. We generally work better when we have a deadline. Decide when you want to go home, and get as much done as you can until that time. When our departure time is up in the air, we might put more things off and not be as productive as we could be.

I hope you find some of these ideas worthwhile, and I encourage you to give them a try! (I tried to take my own advice while writing this blog and I finished in no time!) Let us know what worked the best for you, or if you have any ideas of your own that you would like to add! Thanks for reading!

-Megan, DCR Intern