EAP Monthly Feature

March 2023:
Achieve more, do less

Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘work smarter, not harder?’ If you’re looking to boost your productivity, this is an excellent motto to follow. Rather than rushing to get as much work done as possible, potentially leading to stress or missed deadlines, try working smarter to achieve more by doing less.

To get started, watch this short flash course, “Increasing Productivity”, then explore some of the tips below.  

• Rise and shine. You’re most productive in the first two hours after you get up, so plan your most challenging and meaningful work for that time of day.
  
  
• Make mini-goals. Help yourself realize goals by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable, mini-goals. 
  
  
• Reduce multitasking. Multitasking is not only ineffective, but it reduces the quality of your work and causes more stress. Prioritize essential work and schedule time each day to deal with non-urgent matters. 
  
  
• Use planning tools. Whether on paper or electronically, recording your tasks and events will help you remember what needs to get done and stay on track toward reaching your goals. Some examples of planning tools include planners, calendars or phone apps. 
  
  
• Prep for tomorrow. Devote the last 15 minutes of your day to creating a to-do list for the next day. That way, you can jump right into what needs to get done the next morning and avoid procrastination. 
  
  
• Set time limits. It can be easy to lose track of time while working on a project, but working too long on one task means others may not get finished. Setting time limits by using alarms or timers will help you concentrate on the task at hand.  
  
  
• Take breaks. Finally, while it can be tempting to work at 100% intensity all day, scheduling time to do nothing helps you rejuvenate physically and mentally. It may seem like the opposite, but recharging enables you to get back to work and accomplish tasks more quickly and easily.