5 Ways To Work Smart And Be At The Top Of Your Game

Staying motivated at work may not always come easy to most people. There are days when productivity are at the highest levels, and those when you struggle to complete even a single task for hours. In the office, there are those colleagues who always seem to breeze through their list of things to do, and some who clock in late hours struggling to wrap up on work. Everyone has 24 hours each day, so why then do some people manage to perform more efficiently than others?

While hard work is the mantra to success, working smart rather than putting in long hours can help you a great deal in being an ace performer. So how do you go about planning your day, prioritising the tasks at hand and performing better? Psychologist and business leader Anju Jain in her latest book Burnout, shares five ways of working smart to be efficient and keep burnout at bay.

1. Write your to-do list

Old-fashioned as it may be, the to-do list can be a lifesaver. It gives you a complete glimpse of what needs to be done and helps you script your day in advance. List out the emails you need to send, calls you have to make, who you have to meet, presentations that require work, errands to be run, etc. Then, prioritize and mark the critical ones out.

(Also read: 7 Pen Drives To Always Keep Handy)

^{Old-fashioned as it may be, the to-do list can be a lifesaver}

2. Plan your day according to your energy levels

Our productivity depends on our unique chronotype or internal clock. One that impacts what time of the day we are most focussed, creative, in a good mood, or likely to make mistakes. Figure out your peak hours and build tasks onto your schedule accordingly.

3. Work the calendar

Once a week, assess which meetings are critical and which ones can be delegated or declined. Integrate your personal commitments into the calendar - vacations, kid's activities, etc. Block out time for quiet, critical work that needs to be done without interruption.

4. Email at planned hours

Remove notification alerts so your inbox does not call you. Technology is for your convenience, not the other way round. Once you opened an email, act on it the first time, and keep your emails to the point. Most importantly, to avoid stress, don't read emails first thing in the morning or while heading to bed at night.

(Also read: 7 Chic Leather Notebooks To Stay Organised At Work)

^{Technology is for your convenience, not the other way round}

5. Say no

Burnout tends to hit the best employees and those who promptly accept additional responsibilities. Practice filtering demands and saying no to those that don't align with your goals.

It's time to pull up your sleeves and work smart.

With inputs from IANS