Tips to Make Your Work Day Easier

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”  – Steve Jobs

Doing what you love makes the workday easier.

However, even if you love your job, no day is same and it’s not always easy to enjoy your work. After all, work is all about, well, work!

So, how can you keep the flame burning to go to the work every day with the same enthusiasm? How can you have more time for other activities, avoid burnout and finish your work quickly?

Here are 10 Tips to Make Your Work Day Easier:

1. Focus on high reward tasks.  Doing things that take up maximum time but give no rewards should be avoided. Focus on your top tasks. Avoid unproductive things such as gossip, and office politics. Do not allow your colleagues to interrupt you unnecessarily.
2. Don’t over plan.  Planning your work is imperative to a smooth work flow. However, too much planning before doing anything makes less time to get things done. Moreover, avoid plans to do too many things in one time frame, such as back-to-back meetings. This is the best way to cut short your ‘to-do’ list for the day and make your day less stressful.
3. Learn to manage Email.  Email is one thing that takes the maximum time of an employee. Hence, if you know how to manage your emails, half of your work is done. You can make your work easier by limiting the size of each response, yet conveying the complete message.
4. Learn shortcuts.  Setting up auto-text on your mobile allows you to respond to office messages on the go. You do not need to type the entire thing every time while responding to messages.
5. Say “no” when necessary.  In addition to removing a few things from your ‘to-do’ list, saying “no” also becomes vital in the work place. Saying “no” conveys that you are capable enough to distinguish between work priorities, productive and unproductive work.
6. Question what is not clear. Question the things that you think are not required. For instance, most of the office meetings are considered a waste of time. Ask if the meeting is actually required, if there is there to much time allotted for it, what the agenda is, etc.
7. Keep communication open.  The way you interact or communicate with people at different work levels also defines how smoothly you can manage your work. Hence, maintain professionalism, yet build personal rapport with colleagues. Keep all your communications clear to avoid any misunderstandings.
8. Delegate work. Have a long list of tasks? Make it easier by delegating. It is worth delegating the work to a new intern, your direct report, or a virtual assistant. This way you can focus more on important things, and have other employees learn new tasks.  Delegate smartly, choosing the right person for each task.
9. Don’t stress.  You cannot maintain the same level of energy every day and for every task. Hence, do not put pressure on yourself to fight for perfection. Yes, keeping focus on making things right is important, however fighting for perfectionism is like making your work life harder.
10. Get organized.  The key to make your work easier is organizing everything- from your desktop to Email inbox, and from interactions with colleagues to meetings!