Tips on how to keep focussed at work

“I feel stuck in my job. I am doing mundane work every day. Clearing mails, answering phone calls and attending to issues that don’t concern me seem to be dominating my professional profile. I don’t have the energy , I don’t have the time to think, and I don’t even know where my day goes. I am at work all day and at the end of the day, I don’t even feel good about the work that I did,” one colleague complained about his professional situation. You will be surprised that this gentleman is the vice president of the training function of a multinational company. He holds the position that many aspire for, and yet he like many others below him feels stuck in his job.

There is no problem with his job. The problem is with his efficiency in handling his job. He is not focusing on the big game; he is playing the small game called ‘personal inefficiency’ . Scattered attention, lack of focus and dissipated energy is the common denominator behind all personal inefficiency. Personal inefficiency is a serious thing that will make you quit a job not because you did not have the ability to fulfill your responsibilities but because you never got the time to do justice to your responsibilities. Here are some tips that will help you stay focused on your work and ‘unstuck’ you from professional drudgery.

MAKE A SHORT LIST

Always have a to-do list about what work you are going to focus your energy and attention on for the day. When making a to-do list, make a short list with no more than five tasks that need urgent attention of priority items. Short lists force you to prioritise and complete your tasks. That way you can focus on the important task.

ONLY HANDLE IT ONCE

When you do get to handle something , handle it then and there and finish it. I know of so many people who look at their mails and delay replying to them. A delayed reply from your side to the mail will only make you read it again. That way you are doing the same work twice. If you do something handle it once and move on. There is no greater waste of time and energy than to do the same thing twice.

SUPPORT MENTAL FUNCTIONING

Adjust your work environment to suit your mental functioning. If you work better with music, have some music. Use earphones though so others are not disturbed. If you think better on your feet, walk around. If doodling helps you ideate, do it. Work in an optimum mental state and do whatever you need to support that.

KEEP ASIDE SOME FREE TIME

It is very important that you put some planning and thinking into your job, your career and your life. Destiny is built in your daily decisions . Don’t be so busy that you have no more control over your job and your life. A coffee break on the rooftop might just help you gain that much needed perspective. Keep at least fifteen minutes free time for yourself everyday at work.

EMAIL AFTER COMPLETING TASKS

Getting on the mail can be a professional disaster for some. There is an overload of communication and with the cc concept; you are included in matters that really don’t concern you. I always try and get at least two important tasks done before I get lost in the abyss of emails. Email is a tool for you to get your work done efficiently, if not handled cleverly; email can become the reason for your inefficiency.

YOUR BEST TIME AT WORK

Pay attention to the times of the day when you are at your best. Do your most important work then. Save the other hours for the rote job. I work the best in the evenings. Mornings are worst for me. So I do all my mundane job in the mornings and I leave the most creative and important tasks for the evening. You don’t go to work just to do your job, you go to work so that you can progress in your job. At the end of a work day, you need to close your desk with a feeling of fulfillment , achievement and confidence of a day well worked and lived.

(The author is Corporate trainer & bestselling author of 'I Am Another You')