“Time wasters” can significantly affect the productivity and efficiency of the working day. Therefore, in today's world, where the flow of information is limitless, it is important to be able to fight against time wasters in order to achieve maximum results.
In this article, we have prepared some practical tips that will help you fight these annoying factors and save important time.
The most common “time wasters” at the workplace
1. Social networks
Social networks have become an integral part of our lives. Every day we visit different social platforms like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram etc. If you take a quick look at social media while you're working, it's not a problem, but when you do it too often, it kills time and productivity.
Employees spend at least 1.5 hours browsing social media during work, that's 7.5 hours per week. To avoid this, you can implement a time tracker for your employees, such as Yaware.TimeTracker. You can add social networks and other web pages that interfere with productive work to the “non-productive” list, which will help you and your colleagues analyze your work and overcome these “time wasters”.
2. Email
Email is one of the most popular ways to communicate with colleagues and clients. But have you ever thought about how much productive time you spend each day just reading and responding to emails?
Some statistics. On average, 15 times or every 40 minutes, which adds up to about 2.5 hours of productive work time, your employees spend checking emails every day.
3. Smartphone
Constantly checking notifications on your smartphone, calling, texting with friends or relatives, shopping on the Internet – all these actions are a waste of the productive time of your employees. Thus, employees use their mobile phone for non-work activities for an average of 56 minutes per day.
4. Extra meetings
An ineffective meeting is a waste of time and productivity. Every week, each employee spends 5 hours and 3 minutes in meetings and 4 hours and 13 minutes in preparation for them. This cannot help but affect productivity, because a lot of energy is usually spent on meeting preparation alone. And instead of directing this energy to the performance of an important task, employees often spend it on unnecessary meetings.
5. Multitasking
You might think that multitasking makes you smarter and more productive, but that's not the case at all. It is often due to multitasking that employees cannot complete priority tasks on time.
In fact, people can only do one task at a time. If you are constantly changing your activities, you are wasting your time, because multitasking leads to a loss of 40% of productivity.
How to deal with distractions?
- The first step is to implement Yaware.TimeTracker in the company's work.
Yaware is a simple and convenient tool for teams of any size and structure, designed specifically to improve the productivity of your employees.
Want to start using Yaware.TimeTracker? Sign up right now.
Yaware offers 14 days of free use of the program so that you can experience its functionality to the fullest!
- Plan your day and prioritize tasks
The first step in dealing with time wasters is to define your goals and objectives for the day. Make a list of tasks that need to be done and prioritize them. This will help you focus on important things and avoid distractions on less important things.
- Manage email effectively
Email can be a big time eater if you don't manage it properly. Here are some tips:
- Set specific times to check your email: Instead of constantly checking your email, set specific times to check your email and stick to it.
- Turn off notifications: Turn off new message notifications to avoid constant distractions.
- Use sorting rules: Set up sorting rules and filters to automatically distribute messages by folders or labels.
- Avoid social networks
- Turn off social media notifications during working hours or set time limits on their use.
- Keep your phone away: If possible, keep your phone away from your work area to avoid distractions.
- Learn stress management and concentration techniques
- Practice meditation and relaxation: Regular meditation can help you reduce stress and increase concentration.
- Be physically active: Exercise helps to increase energy and boost productivity.
- Optimize the work environment
- Set up a comfortable work area: Create a comfortable and organized workplace that promotes concentration.
- Use noise-canceling headphones: In case you work in a noisy environment, noise-canceling headphones can help you avoid distractions.
Remember that effective time management is a process, and it takes practice and persistence. By gradually incorporating these tips into your workday, you can increase productivity and save more time for important tasks.
