Feeling overwhelmed by the number of pending tasks at work is common, and every one of us has experienced it at least once in their career. We think that there is so much to do and so little time is given for it, and these thoughts create nothing but unnecessary stress and anxiety that significantly reduces our productivity. You may wonder if there is even a way to avoid this situation?
The answer is yes, and it is all about our savvy and good time management. We can start a new working week by making the most of every second of our working day, although to achieve this, it is essential to learn to recognize what does not contribute to our performance.
This is why this article will introduce the seven work activities that prevent us from being productive. Read carefully and take notes!
1. Overloading yourself with administrative tasks.
If we spend three hours fixing a typo in an invoice or sorting the payments, we are more likely wasting our time. It is common to see small business owners wasting time on tasks they are not good at or simply don’t like due to the lack of experience or personal preferences. One option is to hire an outsourced or part-time assistant to take care of these tasks, just as you or your groupmates used to seek external help when trying to buy college essays in your student years. It is essential to put time into it and understand how much money you are missing out on by doing these tasks.
2. Procrastinating on quick tasks.
Every task in your schedule, even a minor one, needs your attention. If you can schedule an appointment or call a client in a couple of minutes, you should do it immediately. No matter how trivial, procrastination is a common way for entrepreneurs to waste time, says David Allen, author of the bestseller Getting Things Done. People often procrastinate on things like sending emails and then have to look them up and reread them to respond. “It will take you longer to remember than it does just to do it now,” says Allen.
3. Managing your employees instead of them doing it alone.
Many employees need help working throughout the day. As a result, SME owners waste valuable time managing their employees to ensure they do their job correctly. If you must guide an employee in every aspect of the job and they are not progressing in doing it independently, you should fire them. As harsh as it sounds, firing people who slow down your work pace is an excellent solution to making your business more efficient.
4. Letting daily events drive you.
Solving minor problems throughout the day is the most common way to waste your time. Instead of thinking about strategies to expand or grow your business, you’re dealing with all the minor issues that come your way every minute. You need to prioritize your tasks and decision-making, focus on what’s really important and try to use a few minutes a day to define your priorities.
5. Not having a clear strategy for using social media.
Limiting your time on social media will help you increase your productivity. Even if you only use one hour of your day for your social media activity, you will be wasting time if you don’t have a plan. There is also a high risk of this one hour turning into two or even four if you leave it uncontrolled. You need to understand social media as part of your marketing plan, so define from the beginning what results you expect to get from it.
6. Repeating the same things over and over again.
Communicating with your customers is essential, especially if your company provides services, but if you always have to answer the same questions from different customers, you are wasting your time. Instead of starting from scratch every time you encounter the problem, design a diagram with those routine tasks such as automated email responses, voicemails with a generic message, and pre-written customer letters.
7. Concentrating on projects that will never work out.
Getting stuck on projects or products that don’t look promising is the biggest time suck. Let it go and focus on achievable and attainable points instead. When you are working on an idea or a project that fails to take off, you should ask yourself how profitable and promising it is. Be honest with yourself and analyze whether it is time to abandon it and move on.
