5 Effective Work Habits For The Multi-Tasking Woman

Career Management Professional and Adjunct Lecturer Kamal Kant of Next Transition offers some nifty tips on doing more with less at the workplace.

We all get 24 hours in a day, but some of us achieve more than others.  Often this is attributed to good habits that are the result of better time management; work organisation and prioritising that will help us get ahead in the world.

For many Asian women who work, they often need to balance their office jobs with duties as mother, wife, sister and caregiver to ageing parents.  Work ends at 6pm but the “second shift” starts after.

Here are some tips aimed to help you become more productive at your office so you can try to achieve a better balance between your career and your personal commitments:

Time Management
At the start of each week, check your organiser for the appointments and meetings that you have.  From there, plan your time.  Try to break your day into 2-hour slots, with 15-minute breaks in between to freshen up.  For example, you can work from 8am to 10am, then, 10.15am to 12.15pm.  If possible, try not to schedule any meetings during your most productive period. Also, people usually tend to doze off during the 1.30pm to 3.30pm after-lunch period, so try to schedule some work that requires activity on your part.

Organise Your Workstation
Keeping an organised workstation empowers you to work well.  Keep a well-organised folder that contains key information that you regularly need to refer to.  At the same time, regularly tag and file your emails so you can retrieve them with ease.  There should also be a drawer containing all your stationery, eg, pens, highlighters, post-it notes within easy reach.  Ensure the table space immediately in front of your desktop or laptop is free to place documents and papers, which you can organise by putting them in various colour-coded folders.

Prioritise Your Work
At the beginning of each week, set aside about 30 minutes to plan your “work programme” for the week.  Make sure, you assign some “me” time to do work that you have been specifically assigned to.  Also set aside a specific time each day to check your e-mail and respond to them.  Avoid keeping your e-mail programme open throughout the day — we all know how distracting that “ping” alert is every time a new message comes in.  Ditto for MSN, Skype and all chat services.

Stock Your “Larder”
One of the worst distractions is the office pantry.  We tend to go there to look for snacks and make a hot drink.  This can be a distraction if you end up chit chatting with your colleagues for an extended period of time.  If you need to snack at work, keep a few fruits and a bottle of water at your workstation. Otherwise, limit your socialising in the pantry to just 15 minutes.

Manage Your Telephone Calls
You don’t have to answer every call.  Most of today’s telephones are fairly sophisticated and show the caller’s identity or number.  If it is not your boss or someone really important, let it go into your voice mailbox and clear the messages every hourly or two-hourly.  By doing this, you can remain focused on your work.

If you have more tips and ideas how to work effectively, leave a comment!