10 Ways to Improve Your Efficiency at Work

By Dennies John

Let’s all be completely honest: neither of us likes to work, and our dream job would be to sleep all day while money is raining on from the sky. Unfortunately, since we live in the real world where we have to work for a living, we also need to make sure that we are as efficient as possible.

We all want to become better multi-taskers and finish our jobs faster (and better) than anyone else, so if you’re trying to figure out how exactly to do that, here are some tips to be efficient at work.

1. Start Delegating

We get it; you like seeing things done because “your company is you, child.” However, that’s not efficient at all: that’s wasting time on things that don’t require your immediate attention. To improve your efficiency at work, you need to learn how to let it go. Be a team player. Call for reinforcements. Trust your coworkers, and you’ll see that the work will be done much faster – and on a higher quality.

2. Make To-Do Lists

“I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember.” This lie has haunted us all the way from college to our workplace. However, it’s very easy to forget what you were supposed to do when you have other tasks on your head. Try coming up with a list and prioritize the most important tasks. We know you may be tempted to solve the easiest ones first, but we advise against that.

3. Block All Distractions

Let’s say that finishing a project in normal time takes an hour. If you add chatter with your coworker or scrolling on Facebook in the mix, that hour becomes one hour and a half. So make sure to eliminate all distractions before starting your tasks.

4. Take a Break

We may be tempted to work continuously in order to finish faster – but that’s actually counter-productive. Our brains work efficiently for half an hour, after which they need a break. If you force that break, not only will you get no work done, but you’ll also work overtime. It’s recommended that you take 5-minute breaks every 25 minutes. Grab a cup of freshly brewed coffee from your office’s coffee machine; you’ll see how easy it will be for you to work after that.

5. Declutter Your Desk

Look at your desk right now and tell us how messy it is. If your workplace is full of clutter, not only will it take ages to find a file you need, but it will also be a sight for sore eyes. Simply decluttering your desk will do wonders for your efficiency.

6. Snack Smartly

Our idea of a good snack is a chocolate bar and some excellent coffee made at the best drip coffee brewer that your boss just bought for the office. However, our body’s idea of a good snack is chia seeds, almonds, and green tea (or coffee with milk). Make sure to snack on healthy fats to keep your brain at its peak.

7. Meditate

Too many people underestimate the power of meditation. However, using a couple of minutes every day to release your mind of every thought has proven to be a great way of increasing focus and productivity in the workplace.

8. Exercise

You may say that this doesn’t have anything to do with work, but in reality, it has everything to do with it. Regular exercising will make you feel less lethargic and more sharp and motivated. So go get a gym membership right now!

9. Break Up Your Tasks

Staring at a huge, overwhelming project: scary. Staring at the same project chunked in smaller bits: less scary. To finish these types of tasks, it’s more efficient to break them in pieces than to put them off continuously.

10. Sleep

“Sleep? Ain’t nobody got time for that!” If this is your mentality, maybe this is why you keep overworking your bum off every day. 7-8 hours of sleep per night will do wonders for your productivity and creativity, enabling you to finish your work much faster.

Tell us, have you practiced any of these methods? How productive do you feel on a regular work day?

Dennies is a self-made barista who is the founder or DrippedCoffee. He is a die-hard espresso fanatic and when he’s not brewing coffee, you can find him engaged in outdoor activities.