Working smarter, not harder is something that does take a bit of time to learn. We tend to react instead of stopping and thinking about the best way to handle something. There are so many ways that you can accomplish your tasks without coming in early and staying late.
Here are a few tips:
Plan your day. Use your calendar to schedule time for everything. This will help you stay on track a bit better, and you can see what your tasks are for that day.
Clean desk. Coming into the office each morning to a clean desk helps you not feel so overwhelmed and you can start your day fresh. Each night I put my pile of stuff in my drawer this way I can take it out the next morning. I use color coded folders for my projects/tasks.
Small task. Knock out those small tasks as that will be one less thing you have to accomplish that day.
Schedule time. Try and schedule at least 30 minutes with your executive each day if possible to go over the daily to do’s, meetings, etc.
Unavailable. Schedule some time where you are not available for meetings, phone calls, etc. just to knock out some of your lists. Working with no interruptions means you can get over twice the amount done in a shorter amount of time.
Remember that you can schedule yourself, so that you don’t have to put in those 12 – 14 hour days at the office. Just making a few small changes will give you that extra time for yourself, either before work or after.
Time for yourself is important as it helps you do something for you!
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