How to be more productive at work

When asking how someone is, the response is often: “busy”. Technology has fuelled a fixation with productivity, as people try to cram as much into their working day and spare time as possible. But are we really as busy as we think we are?

“Part of busyness is due to overload and presenteeism; coming to work earlier and staying later and coming in when ill to show commitment in an insecure job market,” says Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Alliance Manchester Business School. The recession has added to this pressure, he suggests, because job cuts in both the private and public sector mean fewer people performing tasks with heavier workloads.

Many people perceive busyness as a sign of success, says Hilda Burke, an integrated psychotherapist and life coach – “a stark contrast to pre mid-20th century when to be at leisure was something that only the extremely wealthy could afford.” She also suggests that making sure our minds are always occupied stems from a fear of death, “which seems to be one of the last taboos in our society”.

Define productivity on your own terms

Whether it is powering through to-do list, or creating the headspace to concentrate on a project, productivity means different things to different people. Grace Marshall, productivity coach at Think Productive, suggests asking yourself what you want to achieve. “For some it’s about doing more, but for many it’s about doing more of the right things rather than doing everything. For lots of people it’s more about having a life outside of work.”

Before trying out endless productivity hacks and time-saving apps, look at your habits, says Marshall. “Think about how you work, not just what work you need to get done, your environment, the way you organise and define your projects, your attention, your mojo.” Once you work this out, it will be easier to develop techniques that help you be more productive.

Take care of your physical and emotional health

One of the consequences of peoples’ tendency to “fetishise busyness” is the disappearance of downtime, says Caroline Webb, chief executive of Sevenshift, a behavioural science consultancy. Downtime is essential for our emotional and cognitive health, she explains, “and that’s really taking a hit these days, since it’s hard to switch off in our device-heavy always-on world”.

Taking better care of yourself means you are likely to be more productive as a result, says Burke. “For some, this could be taking regular exercise, a meditation practice or starting to invest more time and effort in cooking good food.”

Use your spare time wisely

This workplace obsession with productivity has spilled into our leisure time, too. Many people believe that in the hours not spent working, they should be maximising their time: working on a novel, learning a new language, cooking an elaborate meal, and Instagramming it all. But with longer working hours, these intentions are lost slumped on the sofa in front of the TV.

While it is important to relax, feeling like there are not enough hours in the day for hobbies and personal projects can be dispiriting, especially for those with unfulfilling jobs.

Burke says that she gets clients in this predicament to consider the personal cost of letting their personal goals fall by the wayside. “Imagining how they’d feel if they were at the same point in six months, one year, five years […] often can trigger the person to realise that the price of remaining stuck is too much – and that spurs them on to take steps to change things.”

Rather than feel guilty for not achieving anything in your spare time, build a routine outside of work, suggests Webb. “Start really small, since even finding 30-minutes is going to be a big thing at first. Then put it on your calendar and treat it with the same importance as you would treat a meeting with someone else.”

Roping in friends, colleagues or your partner to partake in project or hobby can also help, advises Cooper. “The more friends you involve, the more you will reinforce one another and get off the couch,” he says.

Realise that you can’t do it all

No matter how many tasks you tick off your to-do list, there will always be more that can be added to it. “Prioritise, knowing your in-tray will always be full,” suggests Cooper. Once you have done this, leave the rest of the tasks for another day, or delegate them, he says.

When people do not prioritise, they can fall into the trap of multitasking, which makes it harder to concentrate on and complete tasks. “I don’t believe in multitasking,” says Magdalena Bak-Maier, a neuroscientist and productivity coach, who adds that she believes there is greater value in “going deep” on a task. “I have found this to be invaluable to anything worthwhile” as quality work becomes “eroded by people trying to do too much”.

There will always be some items on a to-do list that get ignored, however. “Many people put off tasks they don’t feel confident about doing – if they were to admit that it would probably save them a lot of time and anxious worry,” says Burke. If this is the case, it is important to ask for help or training. “Generally people will respond better to that than a task or job that’s been ignored or avoided,” she says.

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