Do you ever spend too much time on a task that, with more focus, you could have finished in a lesser time? Most of us want to be more productive. Here are five steps to help you be more productive:

Step 1: Set up Your Workspace
It’s important to have a healthy and comfortable workstation. Being more comfortable helps you focus for longer. Make sure your desk and chair are comfortable. Look for ways to minimise other distractions and interruptions and have all of the things you need to work efficiently before you sit at your desk, having to get up to find a file etc. affects both your productivity and your ability to stay focused.

Step 2: Schedule Tasks to Match Your Energy Flow
Think about how your energy levels go up and down throughout the day. We all have certain times when we’re more engaged, just as there are periods when our energy naturally falls, making it more difficult to stay on task.

You’ll get more done in less time, and produce higher-quality work, by organising your work around these natural ebbs and flows. Schedule in difficult tasks, or those that require a lot of focus, when your energy level is up. To invigorate yourself during your low-energy periods, drink water, or take a brisk walk outside.

Step 3: Eliminate Unimportant Work
Not all tasks are created equal. Some are valuable and truly worth your time, while others are unimportant.

Keep an activity log to understand how you spend time every day. After a week or two, look at each of your tasks carefully. Which ones are important or a waste of time? If you identify tasks that aren’t a priority but still need doing, you could delegate them to someone else. When you work on activities that are important, resist the urge to multitask as this can slow you down and increase the likelihood of a mistake happening.

Step 4: Leverage Time-Management Strategies
Consider using time-management strategies to try to get more done in less time. Only check your inbox at certain points during the day. This limits distractions and allows you to manage your workflow more efficiently. To avoid disruption, turn off any audible or visible alerts that tell you when new emails come in. If you believe your next task will require two hours only give yourself an hour as this makes you more focused and finish it quicker. Another strategy is to not do fun tasks until a hard or boring task has been completed.

Step 5: Have Efficient Meetings
A lot of time can be wasted in meetings. Having a clear agenda (and sticking to it) with a clear start and end time can help your meeting be more productive.

Key Points
If you get more done in less time, you can increase your productivity, which leads to feelings of job satisfaction and happiness.

To work smarter, make sure that your workspace is comfortable and meets your needs. Next, schedule your tasks around the ebb and flow of your energy throughout the day.

Keep an activity log to gain a better understanding of how you spend your time, and delegate, outsource or eliminate unnecessary tasks.

Use effective time-management strategies to work more efficiently and make your meetings shorter and more effective.