How can you be more effective in the workplace?

Jul 27, 2016 11:44:33 AM

Effectiveness is doing useful things for you or others, doing things of value, doing what you said you would do when you said you would do them. So, how can you be more effective in the workplace, and what does improving productivity really mean? Effectiveness is not what you do and how busy you are.

It's what you achieve that makes an impact on the greater goals, projects or outcomes that are going to move you forward. Most people know that reading social media and dealing with emails are not indicators or actions of those who are effective. How do you become more effective in the workplace?

This is not something you can really answer in a short article, but I can set you on the road to looking at what you do now and what small changes you can make to start working towards becoming more effective.

If you want to procrastinate a little longer, I recommend you read 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' as an instruction manual. I use a lot of the strategies in that book in my own daily life. I don't want to write you a book review, but I will attempt to give you a few tips to get you started.

I will likely follow up with a few posts over the next few months, so I hope you will find some nuggets amongst them. Set out your goals and vision To be effective, you need to know what outcomes you are trying to create or work towards.

If you don't have the end in mind, it is hard to work out how to get there. So, start with a list of things that you see as big goals or an idea of where you want to be in 5 (or 3 or 2 or 1) years' time. Then break that down into chunks that you can work on in small ways.

Each chunk is important to your overall goal, no matter how small they might seem...so always save time for these small chunks. Even if it is 10 minutes each day, do something towards whatever it is that will get you to the next step. This is where time and energy management are important; if you have tasks to complete that move you closer or make you better, you need to know how long they will take you and if you have the right energy to deliver or create whatever it is you need.

As an example, if I am creating something from scratch I need a different energy to when I am reacting to something or editing. Therefore all my creative energy efforts are scheduled for the morning. Those things that are reactive, but need some thinking, are scheduled after lunch. Considering time management If you don't schedule your time, someone else will.

It is imperative that you manage and control when and how you do certain things if you want to be effective. Sometimes that is easier said than done, but if you clearly explain and set expectations, even 30 minutes of uninterrupted time may be all you need in a day to move the dial closer to your bigger goals. This leads on to another tip: Set expectations.

If you have to spend time on something, go and spend time on it. Don't think you can multitask or fit it in. If it is important, you need to spend the right amount of effort and energy on it. Importantly, give yourself time to do the mindless things. If you have used up your energy on something important, give yourself the reward of a break or rest. I would suggest that it isn't spent on your social media channels, but if that is the way you can relax, then do it.

Just limit it. Go and get a coffee and lunch or go for a walk, but make sure you schedule in break times. The key to effectiveness is sometimes not what you do, but what you don't do. You don't have to do everything now. You don't need to fill all your time with important tasks. We are human, we need to nourish all areas of our being. Give yourself the break.

Come back tomorrow, fresh faced and bushy tailed.

Remember: Being effective is not the same as being stupidly busy.

Find out more about our guest blogger Ghilaine Chan

Ghilaine is passionate about allowing people to do their best work and delight others Ghilaine helps people to operate fast growing businesses in a productive and streamlined way, keeping an eye on time and money, whilst increasing motivation and improving customer relationships in a fast paced, changing environment. She brings order to chaos and creates scalable processes around the business, empowering them to delight their customers. She works with tech based or enabled companies who are looking to disrupt their industries, but know that people are at the centre of their success and helping them manage their teams to:

  • Do their best work and delighting others
  • Create some boundaries, but not cages Know they are acting for a purpose
  • Determine which part they play, that what they receive enables them and what they produce is useful
  • Have autonomy over how and when they produce

She has over 15 years' experience in scaling international business functions for technology companies, within their support and consultancy organisations. Ghilaine is a graduate of London College of Fashion (now part of University of the Arts: London) with a degree in Product Development. She is a Mentor with Microsoft Ventures,UpRising and Outbox Incubator as well as an Approved Business Coach with Growth Accelerator, now part of Business Growth Services. Want to know more?

Connect with Ghilaine on LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter and visit her website, Ghilaine & Co.

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