Organised people usually find that their jobs are easier to do. Organisation is one benefit of following a work schedule -- keeping a work formula will provide work life balance, it goes without saying. With organisation comes better decision making. It'll take you less energy to complete tasks because you're relaxed -- you know what to prioritise and what can be moved for the next day. Important jobs will get the attention that they require because the less important ones have been broken into routines.
How do we suggest you divide your tasks for this purpose? The easiest way to an organised work life is this: Start with listing down all your job responsibilities, from the biggest to the smallest. This applies whether you have an Accounting Job or Engineer Job or Admin Job or IT Job. Schedule your top priorities the soonest. Break down your small tasks and put them on a stand by; if your time allows you, go ahead and work on some of them. Professional Speaker Dr. Donald Wetmore believes in task management to increase productivity and he's shared with us one great tip. He's written this in his Crucial vs. Not Crucial article that we've featured on Career Advice: "I divide our responsibilities into two categories: "Crucial" and "Not Crucial". Crucial items give us the "biggest bang for the buck" for the time spent and is the most productive use of our time. "Not Crucial" gives us emotional relief." Among all your job responsibilities, which items carry the most weight career-wise? Consider them Crucial. Not Crucial refers to little office tasks like email organization and desk cleaning.
The easiest way to please your boss is to meet his expectations. What can routines do to you in this regard? Your boss will grow to appreciate your increased efficiency and may entrust you with more challenging tasks, in which case may lead you to a promotion. In relation to this, by working on schedule, you'll be able to keep up with what's happening around, from inside the confines of your office building to the market in general and thus, have better things to share during meetings. Chris Mead, General Manager of Hays in Singapore has shared with us once, "In meetings make sure everyone knows what you’re working on and what the outcomes are for the business."
Contrary to common notion, multi-tasking is a big no especially for starters. You'll just end up with more things to problematise -- just think of the mistakes! We understand that it's tempting to juggle two or three tasks at the same time when you have task overload, but here's the thing: a schedule will keep you in proper perspective -- you'll see yourself thinking less about multitasking by enacting one.
Everyone needs a break; keeping a schedule is the best way to make such a thing happen. A waste of time? Not really. Use this idea as a motivation -- like think of it as a reward for finishing something. You'll be revived and be much more efficient in attacking the next job in hand. Career management expert Kamal Kant has shared this with us through an article. We hope it'll inspire you to take a break. "There is power in permission! Give yourself permission to take a break, to over-succeed, or whatever else you want. Permission liberates, energises, inspires and empowers. You can give yourself permission to reach for the stars!"
However, don't over-schedule yourself. Your manager will not just judge you by your efficiency in working but also by your ability to handle emergencies and unexpected situations. If you want to be successful you need to be resourceful when the situation calls for it. There isn't any other way around it. Flexibility, in managers' point of view, is a big plus point.
Being a person of schedule calls for commitment. A strong dose of. Try very hard to honor your schedule. At the end of the day, it all depends on whether or not you'll allow this work protocol to help you path your way to success.
Let JobsDB.com Singapore end this article with these two points:
"One needs to take charge of one's own career as if it was a business and not rely on others to insure security in the hectic job market of today and into the future", says Clinincal counselor David P. Helfand .
Dr Sattar Bawany, Head of Transition Coaching Practice with DBM Asia Pacific follows that up with "career management is now YOUR responsibility, with your employer facilitating it. "
You have to move in order to succeed. Following these tips takes hardwork, but think of it this way: it can harvest you good results in the long run.
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