It always seems like a common New Year’s Resolution is simply to get more done. Let’s face it, that’s pretty vague. Getting more done needs an actually plan of attack to increase workplace productivity. And that’s where we come in – we have our favorite ways we’ve been increasing our productivity this year so far. So, get to work!
Devon’s Favorite Blog
There are very few things more stressful to see first thing in the morning than a massive inbox. Of course, when I actually dive in to my unread emails, so many of them are either from subscriptions list or months old. It’s overwhelming try to sort through them all and siphon out which emails are important and which can just be archived.
Funny enough, this blog fell into my inbox right after I acheived “inbox zero” (I know – it was a big accomplishment!). These email management tips from HubSpot can help you stay organized. You’ll spend less time scrolling through your email and more time responding to important issues. Maintaing inbox zero is an easy way to increase workplace productivity, though getting to that level takes some focus. It’s completely worth it, though, once you realize you’re not losing as many important emails as you once did!
Chase’s Favorite Hack
If you’re like me, you probably spend a lot of your time working online with multiple tabs and Google searches open. You also probably spend a lot of your time filtering through search results trying to find the things you were actually searching for. That is where search operators come in. “What’s a search operator?” you might ask. Well, I’m going to tell you.
Search operators are little modifiers that change the way Google processes your search. For example, using the minus symbol before a search term will filter out all web pages that use that term. So if you’re searching for bats in South Carolina, but don’t want to see results related to baseball bats, you can type in “bats in South Carolina -baseball.”
My favorite search modifier, though, is the “site:” modifier. This can be used to narrow your search down to a specific URL. That way, when you’re doing your search for bats in South Carolina, you can specifically search your favorite bat related website or just narrow it down to sites with a “.gov” URL.
Find a full list of search operators here.
Audrey’s Favorite Inspiration
Do you work in a small company where you don’t technically have one job title that encompasses what you do? You wear many hats and that keeps you very busy. Well, that’s me! Personally, I enjoy the variety of work I do, it keeps me on my toes. But if you’re likeme, then you know that there are some days where you feel like you’re never making a dent in the pile of work on your plate.
This week, I started something new. It’s a super simple strategy that I know isn’t a new idea but it did wonders for my produtivity! I divided my day into one hour or two hour chunks of time. Then, I assigned each time chunk to a specific category of work. For me, each of my clients got their own chunk of time, design projects got their own slot, as well as website projects. Often, it’s easy to get cuaght up in a project and let it consume half my day. Obviously, there will need to be some flexibility when deadlines, meetings and unepected things come up, but so far this strategy is helping me feel more calm and productive each day.