Do you ever find yourself drifting off during the work day? Losing your focus during certain hours of the workday?
If so here are 3 great hacks that can help you stay focused and productive.
Hack #1 Work on Challenging Tasks During Peak Energy Times
We have all had a task or project that we had to complete, but procrastinated starting it. One of the common patterns that people fall into is that they just do not feel like they have the energy or mindset to work on this challenging task. One key technique or hack you can use is to prioritise tasks that require more thought or focus to times when energy is working in your favour. As human beings we have different metabolisms where our energy is highest–and it is easier to focus. These natural energy peaks can be early morning, mid morning, middle of the day, early afternoon, later afternoon or evening. One hack to being more focused at work is to prioritise tasks that are more challenging during your peak energy time. This makes it easier to start, easier to think and easier to complete the things that we procrastinate.
Hack #2 Control Technology & How You Use It
Have you ever just quickly checked your Facebook page and got distracted looking at posts and realised you just lost 20 minutes of time? Yes, me too. One of the challenges of smartphones and digital technology is that we can easily become distracted from something that we need to focus on at work. This can be the automatic notification of the next email that has arrived in our inbox to the vibration of our phone from the last voicemail message. Every time we get distracted by this technology, we are losing valuable time and focus. Control your digital technology by turning off those notifications and reducing the number of times you check your email and social media.
Hack #3: Send Emails that Are Easy for Others to Action
For most of us we need to send emails as part of our role. The challenge is that many of us have not been trained on how to write an email that is easy to read and easy for others to follow. When you type an email make sure that it is not just a bunch of words that look bland and force the recipient to take the time to read everything. How can you do this? By adding visual texture to your emails. Use bold, bullets and headers to make it easier for people to read–and understand your message. If you want to focus even further, you can put in the subject line one of the five outcomes that we are trying to achieve by sending the email which includes: FYI, Need Information, Decision, Action to Take or Meeting required. By focusing on these hacks you can make it easier for them to take action.
If you’d like further Leadership Hacks, for yourself or your team, I’d be happy to give you a hand.
