How to use a work planner or diary to boost productivity
Office workers can waste up to 40% of their workday from not being organised.
Cluttered desks, time switching between multiple projects, losing focus and not having clear task management can add hours to the working week and leave employees stressed and burnt out trying to keep up with mounting tasks.
If to-do lists and goal setting aren’t something you are used to it can be daunting getting organised but putting simple measures in place can have a huge impact and help to increase productivity while lowering stress in the workplace.
We look at our top tips for getting organised and how using items like diaries and planners can increase productivity in the workplace.
1. Manage everything in one place
Planners are ideal for helping you to remember multiple tasks. Research shows that the average person’s short-term memory can only remember about 7 things. If you aren’t jotting everything down on a daily to-do list then you are already making tasks more complicated than they need to be. Keep an office planner that you can regularly refer to as and when needed and give your brain a rest from trying to remember extensive lists.
2. Make sure you are organised from the start
One of the main reasons that people struggle to use a planner is that they don’t take the time to organise it before they start.
Being clear and organised in your thoughts helps to make sure that the planner is easy to use.
Write down a list of all the things you want to accomplish in the week and then group all the tasks together. Make sure that you can see the goals that you have set and that your aims and projects are clear. The more organised you are the easier it will be to manage your time.
Choosing a planner with categories can help make it easier to organise the tasks systematically and post its, pictures and highlighters can be used to help colour code and organise your thoughts.
3. Prioritise your goals
Not all tasks are as important as others. Being able to see all your tasks in one place makes it easier to make sure that you are using your time to do the things that are most important. If you are struggling to decide which tasks are most important tools such as the Eisenhower Matrix may be helpful in categorising priorities.
Research shows that large proportions of work time can be wasted by concentrating on non-urgent tasks first. By being clear on what tasks are important and time sensitive it will help to increase productivity and make your workload more organised and manageable.
Instead of just ploughing your way through your daily tasks take five minutes each morning to look at what is urgent and what can wait.
4. Include clear time management
Being clear on timescales for each project will help to organise your time more efficiently. Allocate time for every task in your planner and use your diary to block out time to complete each task. Underestimating how long tasks will take means that your to-do list can soon spiral out of control. Make sure you are focused and dedicate enough time to complete projects and your planner will easily organise your daily activity.
5. Use a planner to record as well as organise
A regular planner not only keeps your tasks organised and supports great time management, but it can also act as a record. By keeping a list of all your activity, events, milestones and meetings if you are needed to recall information a planner can be a useful tool in finding that detail.
Keep everything organised and easy to read. If you ever need to look back it will be easy to pick out key dates and assess time taken on certain tasks.
It can take time to get used to using planners and diaries to organise your workload. When you are already overwhelmed keeping additional notes can seem daunting. However, once you get used to using a planner it can be the perfect way to keep on top of your workload and help reduce stress, forgetfulness and wasted time.
Looking for a new workplace planner or diary?