Life Balanced

I love my job, but like everyone I sometimes get burned out, don’t accomplish as much as I would like to or get sidetracked on inconsequential projects. Here are my tips for being more productive and five GREAT articles I came across that will help me (and hopefully you) get more accomplished at work.

1. Don’t avoid the “A” level projects. It is so much easier to get through a bunch of “C” level tasks, but at the end of the day, you are still left with the “A” level projects that are higher in priority and require more time. When you get into work, try tackling the big project first and sprinkle some smaller projects in throughout the day.
2. Shorten your to-do list. Rather than trying to tackle everything on your list, pick three to five items to focus on that day. You can then knock off some other projects if you have time and feel really good about yourself.
3. Give yourself a pep talk. Before you go into work, tell yourself that you’re going to be very productive, you’re looking forward to tackling the projects at hand and can’t wait to see how much you’ve done at the end of the day. It may sound silly, but it really does set the tone for the day.
4. Review your accomplishments. When leaving work, congratulate yourself on what you accomplished and review where you got sidetracked so you can do better the next day. I also review my to-do list at the end of the week and create an informal competition with myself to get more done the next week.
5. Put time limits on your projects. If you have to work on a project that you’re not too excited about, tell yourself that you are going to go full force and focus on it uninterrupted for the next 30 minutes or hour. Once you get started, the project is never as tough/boring as it seems.

Below are some articles I came across last week that I think you will enjoy, and that I’m looking forward to incorporating into my work life:

Peter, who also has a great Web site called iwillchangeyourlife.com, posted an article on PickTheBrain.com titled, “5 Ways to Work on Your Work.” In it he discusses some good some self improvement ideas that you can do at the office. Often it is not the things that we don’t do that hinder our productivity, but rather the things that we do.

Donald Latumahina at LifeOptimizer.com discusses this in his article titled, “Top 10 Ways NOT to Become a Productivity Ninja.”

A short post, but great tip on www.lifehacker.com title, “Accomplish More by Applying Parkinson’s Law.”

If you manage a department or group of people you will inevitably be faced with this situation sometime in your career. www.businessknowledgesource.com features an excellent article titled, “How to Manage When You Are Understaffed.”

Last but not least, Om Malik’s popular Web site www.webworkerdaily.com helps empty your inbox and clear your desk with “Take Action: How to Make Quick Decisions.”

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