A few months ago, I found myself working incredibly long days. I was getting into the office an hour early and staying an hour late, always walking out the door feeling like there was a laundry list of work left to do. I’m lucky to work at a company that is conscious of our workload, so I knew pretty quickly that the problem wasn’t my environment: I was the problem. I fell prey to a problem that plagues just about everyone at some point in their professional career. I was working harder, but I wasn’t working smarter. Eventually, I got tired of putting in the time without seeing ample results or feeling significantly more accomplished, and decided to revamp my work habits. I learned how to work smarter, not harder. After implementing this lifestyle change, my workday completely changed. I was knocking out priorities like a #boss, moving projects along far quicker, and best of all, I stopped finding it necessary to work 10 hour days. Now that I’ve learned to work smarter, I never have to stay late to finish all the work on my plate (except for those days where I waste the first hour of my day chatting with the girls about last night’s episode of the Real Housewives – which is always worth it). Here a few tricks of the trade that helped me learn how to stop working harder and revive my work-life balance.
After implementing this lifestyle change, my workday completely changed. I was knocking out priorities like a #boss, moving projects along far quicker, and best of all, I stopped finding it necessary to work 10 hour days. Now that I’ve learned to work smarter, I never have to stay late to finish all the work on my plate (except for those days where I waste the first hour of my day chatting with the girls about last night’s episode of the Real Housewives – which is always worth it). Here a few tricks of the trade that helped me learn how to stop working harder and revive my work-life balance.
- Tackle priorities first. I’m a morning person, which means I’m at my best before lunch. When you first sit down at your desk, it’s easy to get lost in your emails and tackling mindless tasks as opposed to forcing yourself to get going. However, that means you’re left with trying to tackle a difficult task while battling the afternoon lull. If you knock out your biggest priority first thing in the morning, you’ll feel accomplished by 11 a.m., setting the tone for the rest of the day.
- Schedule breaks. Working on the same assignment for three hours straight may make you feel like you’re working hard, but in actuality, you’re not doing yourself any good. I’ve spent a solid 30 minutes staring at a press release trying to think of a headline, and I could have avoided that had I stepped away for a few moments and given my brain a moment to rest. Whether you take a quick walk around the block or take a break to sit with a co-worker and have a cup of coffee, giving yourself 10 minutes to recharge your batteries is the best thing you can do to increase productivity. You’ll sit back down at your desk refreshed and ready to jump back in.
- Don’t check your email. I know, I know – this is basically blasphemy to someone who works in the PR world, but hear me out. The worst thing that can happen in the middle of the day is finding yourself with five different assignments open, trying to decide which one to concentrate on. If you’re in the middle of writing a press release and an email comes in, you don’t need to drop what you’re doing and respond to that email. While working on an assignment, you should glance at every incoming email to ensure it’s nothing urgent, but don’t let yourself get distracted by jumping in to respond. If you’re on a roll, stay on a roll. Your emails aren’t going anywhere.
- Keep a notebook on your desk for fleeting thoughts. There are so many times that I’m knee-deep in pitching or writing, and I’ll randomly think to myself things like, “Crap, don’t forget to send the reporter that image.” Before, I would stop what I was doing and tackle the random to-do that popped in my head, then try to resume my work, often finding that I’d totally lost my flow. Now, I’ve learned to quickly jot down these thoughts, to reassure myself that I’ll remember to do it later without having to stop working.
- Set an end of the day ritual, and stick to it. When you have a seemingly endless to-do list, it can be easy to resign yourself to working late and getting it done. However, unless you’re on deadline (in which case exceptions always need to be made), most of the time trying to crank out work at 7 p.m. results in increased quantity but decreased quality. I made a promise to myself that no matter what, each day at 5:45 p.m. I would wrap up what I’m working on, prepare my to-do list for the following day, straighten up my desk and unwind from 8 hours of using my brain non-stop. I’ve found that setting myself up for success for the next day allows me to leave the office feeling settled and relaxed, as opposed to frazzled and anxious.
