If the shrinking workweek is any indication, today’s professionals seem to be getting a better handle on how to improve effectiveness, using the adage “work smarter, not harder.” In fact, the average work week for small business owners dropped from 45.7 hours in 2014 to 43.9 hours in 2017. Furthermore, 67 percent of millennial business owners now work just 40 hours per week—or less.
So, what’s the secret to making your work and your time more effective? Check out this list for a few ideas.
5 Ways to Improve Effectiveness at Work
1. Define effective
You very well could be confusing productivity with effectiveness. Both terms get tossed around a lot in the business world, but take a peek at their dictionary definitions:
Effective: Producing a decided, decisive, or desired effect
Productive: Having the quality or power of producing especially in abundance
Still confused? Basically, being effective is doing what you should be doing the way you should be doing it to achieve specific results, while being productive is more about churning out as much work as possible.
To put it into context, say you work at a clay pot company. If you really amp up your productivity, you might go from 300 pots to 10,000 pots a week. But if you’re more effective, your pots will be higher quality, sturdier or perhaps even more beautiful.
2. Delete your to-do list
Once you know what you’re trying to achieve, instead of turning it into a bulleted list every day, commit to a schedule instead.
Set aside a specific time each day and block it off on your calendar for things you need to do —responding to emails, dreaming up new clay pots, making the rounds to chat with and encourage other clay pot makers, etc.
If you know you generally have more energy after your first cup of coffee, allot that time for your most crucial projects. If you’re not sure when your energy levels, peak, try out this method. And, don’t forget to give yourself some breaks.
3. Enlist robot help
Can you believe that we spend only about 3 hours of an 8-hour workday on the really important stuff? It’s true. We waste the rest of our precious time on low-value tasks—like weeding through spam emails.
That’s where automation steps in to save the day—and your time—freeing you up to focus and improve effectiveness.
4. Get more training
Want to be a more effective coder, accountant, writer or people manager? Whatever it is you do, take a course to brush up on those skills, or learn a few adjacent ones. Studies show the more employees train, the more they improve effectiveness.
In fact, a 2016 survey found a correlation between employee training investment and improved product quality, customer experience, and even Net Promoter Score (NPS). Also, well-trained employees are more likely to not just achieve, but even surpass their goals.
Communication skills are something we can all use regardless of career path. From active listening to crafting better emails faster, beefed up communication skills eliminate unnecessary rework and wasted time from straightening out misunderstandings and miscommunications. You can improve your communication skills with these 14 tips from Entrepreneur.com.
Furthermore, the typical manager spends 25 to 40 percent of his or her time dealing with these conflicts That’s a huge amount of lost productivity, which may go to show that not every conflict requires manager intervention. Seek out business skills training to smooth out rough patches and choose your battles carefully.
5. Launch a better training program ASAP
Set your employees up for success and improve effectiveness with smart, innovative training on a range of topics—all available on demand. Visit KnowledgeCity to learn more about our hassle-free online learning management system today.
