It starts with just one evening, which quickly becomes two and then before you know it you’re spending all week working late. It can be difficult to get it under control so you can perform effectively but still have a life outside of work. Of course sometimes working late is needed but if it has just become a standard part of your working day then you might need to look at how productive you are actually being. Take a look at our advice below for a little guidance on how to identify the problem, and find the solution:
Before you start making any changes you need to ask yourself why you work late? Initially you’ll answer “because I have so much to do!” However when you really drill down generally there is another reason why you are working late day after day. Sometimes it’s habit, other times it’s because we procrastinate too much, poor time management generally and for some it’s to demonstrate their dedication to the company. Whatever your reason, it’s important to understand it so you can help yourself find a solution.
Do what is most important
It sounds like fairly obvious advice but typically we end up working late because we’re trying to do everything! Not just to clear our own workload but to manage other people’s expectations of our work. If you focus on only doing what is important then you may find that you are more able to contain your workload to your working hours. Of course sometimes it feels that everything is important, so ask yourself, what makes money? What will have the most impact? What are the urgent deadlines?
Remove distractions
It can be tempting to just send a quick reply to a personal message throughout the day or lose half an hour browsing Instagram, however you will kick yourself later when you are struggling to get everything finished in a certain amount of time. Try to remove distractions by taking your phone off your desk if possible and muting any messaging services that prove to be distracting. Also we can become a slave to emails throughout the day, so try to have key points when you close your emails for even just 15 or 20 minutes to stop yourself from getting distracted.
Plan your day
One surefire way to stop your working day running in to the evening is to plan it out in advance. Take 10 minutes at the end of each working day to plan out what you hope to achieve the next day. This helps you approach your workload in the morning with the right mindset, and could also help you stop worrying about work when you get home. When it comes to people asking “could you just fit this in?”, having a plan helps you see if you really can fit it in without overcommitting yourself.
There’s an app for that!
If you need help with planning your time and being more productive throughout the day there are a range of different apps that can help you get back on track. Be Focused is a great example as it allows you to segment your day in to 25 minute chunks. The idea being that you remove all distractions, and work purely on a single task for 25 minutes. It’s thought working in this way helps you to be more productive. Be Focused is just one of many time management apps you can choose from, so maybe try a few today and start to reclaim your evenings!
If you’re looking for a new opportunity and you want an experienced recruitment professional to help, then get in touch with Optimum Recruitment. Send your CV to admin@optimumrecruitment.co.uk or call 01904 208065.
Posted By: Abigail Simpson
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