5 Ways to Work Faster – Without Sacrificing Quality

1) Pretend Your Day Ends at 11AM:

At the start of each working day, behave as though you can no longer work past 11AM. If you knew you had to go home at that point, yet you still wanted to achieve some really worthwhile goals, what would you do? Create a small list then start on those important tasks immediately. The 11AM technique works brilliantly because it forces you to take action quickly on what really counts.

2) Time Box Your Work:

A strategy for still doing a good job in less time is deciding in advance how much time you will spend on particular task or part of a task, and then sticking to it. For example, if you tend to over-invest in the research stage, you may want to tell yourself that you have to stop after one to two hours. Or if you struggle with coming up with an initial draft, then you may pre-decide how much time you would like to invest in getting something typed out.

3) Try to Do Unimportant Tasks Within Ten Minutes:

You will never reach a high state of achievement if you give the same time importance to tasks of low value as you give to those of high value. Yet so many people do exactly this. Numerous times a day they give trivial tasks more time than they rightly deserve, then find they are short of time to get the crucial stuff done.

4) Be decisive:

Once you have made a decision, stick to it. This is especially true if you are leading a team. Being indecisive will not only slow down your progress but could also cause your team members to feel less confident about your ability to lead. Provided that you have done the proper research, make your choice and resolve to see it through to its completion.

5) Get rid of distractions:

Do you have a co-worker who just won’t stop talking? Do your best to lure them out of your workspace. A “Chatty Cathy” can eat up your precious time and energy. Once he or she gets close to your desk or office, say that you can’t talk right now, try to look busy, and if he or she doesn’t get the hint, find an excuse to get up and leave. A talkative co-worker will just slow you down and make it very difficult to get back on track.