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Increase Your Daily Productivity Like a Pro

Working in a hybrid or remote environment has the significant benefit of having autonomy over your workday; however, if you have trouble staying focused or being satisfied with the results for the amount of time you’ve worked, it may be time to tweak your time management style. Check out these ways to increase your daily productivity like a pro:

Set Daily Goals

Having a sense of accountability is an essential aspect of keeping yourself on track and preventing procrastination. Set daily goals for what you specifically want to accomplish so you have an effective way to measure your success and make progress regularly.

Identify Your Peak Productivity Time

Understanding when you work best is a major key to being efficient, especially as a hybrid or remote worker. Identify your peak productivity time, when you are most naturally energetic, focused, and motivated, and tailor your schedule around it. For example, if you are naturally at your best in the morning and tend to hit a slump in the afternoon, structure your day to purposely work on deep work that requires concentration early, and then administrative or rote tasks later.

Protect Yourself from Distractions

Identify what your most common culprits are when it comes to getting you off task, whether it’s browsing websites or social media or being inundated with chat messages from coworkers. Protect yourself from these distractions so you can dedicate more focused effort to your tasks, such as by setting blockers for specific sites or apps or marking yourself as “Do Not Disturb” on your chat platform.

Handle Email More Efficiently

Although email is crucial for doing your job, if not approached intentionally, it can quickly derail your workday. Handle email more efficiently by establishing a framework for taking action. Avoid checking and responding to emails immediately as they pop up and instead, schedule a recurring time for doing so (i.e., the top of every hour). Keep your inbox organized so you don’t overlook crucial action items by setting up categorized folders and marking messages accordingly.

Allocate Your To Do List

Without a scheduled plan, your To Do list is not a valuable tool for productivity. Allocate your To Do list onto your calendar to take your tasks and turn them into action items. Clarify your most important tasks, then put them on your schedule just like you would for a meeting. You can batch similar tasks, such as returning phone calls or uploading documentation for reimbursement, and then schedule blocks of time to handle them. This can be especially helpful for items that tend to get put off indefinitely for seemingly more urgent matters, such as brainstorming or professional development.

Explore New Opportunities

Are you ready to start looking for a new job? Turn to IFG to find the opportunities that are best for you. We are a top accounting and finance employment agency serving employers throughout Canada and the United States, and can assist you with your job search. Contact us today to meet with an IFG Business Partner.