9 Ways to Improve Work Performance

Performance is an important part of advancing your career. Whether you’re climbing the corporate ladder or simply wanting the personal satisfaction of knowing you are using your talents to their full extent, improving your work performance could help you achieve those goals.

No matter how you have performed, you can always do better than you did yesterday. Here are few ideas to help you improve your performance at work.

Keep Track of Time

You might think that you’re good at knowing how much time you are spending on each task you do. However, according to research only 17 percent of people are able to estimate the passage of time. Time management apps like Rescue Time can be used to let you know how much time you are spending on daily activities including your time on social media and answering emails.

Take Breaks

You might not want to lose your flow or concentration while working on a long project and this might cause you to not take a break. It is important to note that your work will suffer if you burn out.

Studies have shown that taking regular breaks during a workday boosts your mood and helps your concentration. During a long task, this can help you maintain a constant level of performance, instead of declining over the time you work because you have taken any breaks. Schedule time to take walk around the office or grabbing a midday coffee.

Set Milestones and Deadlines

Stress is usually considered a bad thing but a manageable level of self-imposed stress can actually help us focus and meet our goals. When you’re working on open-ended tasks of projects try giving yourself a deadline and then stick to it. You might find that having a reason to watch the clock makes you more productive and focused.

Say No To Meetings

One of the biggest time-wasters in a workday are meeting. Yet somehow, we keep booking them. The average office worker spends over 31 hours each month unproductive meetings. Next time you book a meeting ask yourself whether you can accomplish the same goals or tasks via email, phone or web-based meeting. Try alternative methods of communication to save everyone time.

Stop Multitasking

We tend to think the ability to multitask is important to productivity and efficient but the opposite is actually true. It is proven that attempting to do several tasks at once can instead result is lost time and productivity. We’re fooling ourselves when we think we can handle a few tasks at once. Instead, make a habit of committing to a single task before moving onto the next one. Focusing on one task at a time will end up helping you finish your list faster.

Set Small Achievable Goals

Looking at the big picture can be daunting.

Break down your big projects in your calendar into smaller tasks. This will make you feel more in control and help you be more proactive. Keep track of your day-to-day on these small tasks throughout you’re day and you will make your bigger projects seem much less overwhelming.

Use Your Commute

People spend a lot of commuting to and from work. This can be a tempting time to play some Candy Crush, browse Facebook or sneak in a nap. However, you could be much more productive in this bonus time you have on your hands. Why not use your commute time to answer some emails, create your daily list of tasks or do some brainstorming?

Try The “Two Minute Rule”

Increase your productivity by using small windows of time to do actual tasks.

According to entrepreneur and influential content strategist Steve Olenski, implementing the “two-minute rule” will make the most of small windows of time you have to work. The idea is if you see a task or action you know can be done in two minutes or less, do it immediately. Completing this task right away actually takes less than having to get back to it later.

Turn Off Notifications

In an attempt to be proactive and not reactive, schedule a time to check your email, voicemails and texts. Turn off your notifications while you are concentrating on tasks at hand. During work, hours have scheduled times to handle notifications.

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