As attorneys and business professionals strive for success, people tend to overcomplicate their work lives when they should be looking for ways to streamline their days. Here are our five insider tips to simplify your work and maximize your productivity and profitability.
NO. 1: BATCH YOUR DISTRACTIONS TOGETHER.
Whether it’s email, Twitter or blog reading, distractions can really squander your time. They can also kill your momentum, especially if you allow them to seep into your most productive periods of the day. Instead of allowing these things to infiltrate your work day, set a specific time for them, preferably later in the day. You should also try to batch all of your productivity killers together, so you can knock them all out at once.
NO. 2: SHORTEN MEETINGS.
If an issue can be handled without a meeting, handle it without a meeting. If an issue is important enough for a sit down, try to make the meeting as short as possible. Not only do long meetings waste precious time, they tend to be less productive, since people inevitably lose focus as things stretch on. Sit down and address all the key issues without needless delays. Be sure to stay on point and save other issues for another time, so people can get in, get out, and get back to work.
NO. 3: CONDENSE YOUR TECHNOLOGY.
While modern innovations are intended to make work life easier, they can sometimes have an opposite effect. Instead of using several systems or dashboards, see if you can bundle your technology to better consolidate your daily tasks. For example, if you’re entering expenses into one particular platform and then transferring them into another, see if you can find a single system that will allow you to do everything all in one place.
NO. 4: GET ORGANIZED.
When we have less clutter in our visual space, we tend to feel less stressed. Take the time to organize your desktop and your drawers, so you will feel unfettered while you work. You should consider adding some artwork or natural light to your workspace since research has shown that these types of alterations result in higher productivity, fewer errors, reduced fatigue, positive attitudes, lower absenteeism, and reduced eyestrain.
NO. 5: START WITH HIGH-REWARD TASKS.
While some people prefer to get the least pleasant responsibilities off their plates as soon as possible, this isn’t always a great strategy. When we get bogged down in tedious, time – consuming tasks, morale can suffer. What’s more, when you spend the early part of the day putting out fires or tying up loose ends, you may not have enough energy or daylight to focus on other, more important issues. When we start by focusing on the tasks that bring the biggest results, we tend to feel more positive about the trajectory of our day. One good way to do this is by focusing on low-hanging fruit early in the morning to build momentum for the rest of the day. Leslie Malawer Keenan
