Working for longer hours doesn’t equal more productivity; this an adage which you’ve to stick it firmly in your mind. The key to higher productivity is working smarter not longer. In other words, it’s a matter of quality not quantity. It is right that the more hours you work, the more work you get done. Nevertheless, working for too many hours will affect your real productivity in the longer term, as it will affect your mood for it will consume from your leisure time (hobbies, social hangouts with family and friends etc.). A research study conducted on 2014 at Stanford University showed that employees who worked 70 hours had the same output as the workers who worked 56 hours a week. So, and quite simply: it’s not efficient. Therefore, I’m going to support you with 6 useful tips to help you stop working long hours and still achieve high productivity, so as to save time for other activities.

Benjamin Franklin has once said: ((If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail)). You must have a diary and make a to-do list classifying tasks according to their importance and urgency (important and urgent_important but not urgent_not important but urgent_not important and not urgent), you can ask for the help of others to do the unimportant easy tasks for you especially if they were urgent, and set a realistic timeline for each task and abide by the schedule.

First of all, shut the door of your workplace so as people will know you’re working and no one is allowed to enter. If you’re working in an office, inform your colleagues that you need a quiet ambiance. Secondly, put your mobile on the silent mode to avoid buzzing notifications and phone calls every minute and other. The same applies for social media platforms; don’t check emails messages, Facebook surfing, Instagram, etc. In addition, say no to unproductive meetings by making sure you can solve the issue alternatively by emails, phone, or web-based meetings

Don’t multi-task, it won’t increase your productivity. The brain has a limited capacity for productivity, switching from one task to a different one consumes energy from the brain’s capacity of productivity, while this energy could be properly utilized. Also, assigning shorter than the assumed time to a certain task could disrupt your concentration. So, why not to gather a group of similar works together as one and do them. Work that needs the same type of effort and energy, this will significantly eliminate the time you take for each task alone. Remember, multitasking is nothing but a softer definition of delaying.

Non-stop working leads to remarkable productivity decline. Taking short breaks at intervals, or one long break (30-60 minutes) regenerates your energy and re-stimulate your concentration. It’s strongly recommended to utilize the break by walking outdoor, going to the gym, or performing exercise work-out as this will re-pump the blood to your brain clearing your head and freshening you up to resume working with high focus.

Don’t try to perfect a task, for in reality nothing is perfect. Therefore, running after perfectionism will only waste your time and put on frustration and stress. It’s better to complete the job well enough according to your abilities instead of delaying it. Don’t forget to fuel yourself with encouraging words and perform the heating activities that prepare you to work like a cup of coffee or reading a chapter from your favorite book.

Although stressing yourself is a bad thing, a controllable self-imposed stress is beneficial. This strategy will generate more focus that will result in achieving more goals. Try to follow this strategy, especially in open-ended tasks or projects by determining a deadline and abiding by it...You’ll be amazed about by the much of production you did.

DrJobs wishes you all the best!

1. Plan and give the priority to the most important tasks
2. Cut off on the distractors
3. Do one task at a time and group similar tasks together
4. Have a break
5. Give up on perfectionism, just aim for “good enough”
6. Set deadlines

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