Working smarter not harder can greatly increase your productivity and reducing stress. No matter if you work in an office, from home, or outside, you can benefit from smarter working.

You only have so much time in your day. We usually must pack so many things into our day, so don’t let your work impede on the rest of your life.

Here we offer some tips and strategies that you can implement to help yourself work smarter not harder, get more done, and greatly reduce stress.

Stop multitasking

Is multitasking bad?  Everyone thinks they need to multitask to get a lot of things done and think they are a great multitasker. Fact is that multitasking usually ends with these tasks not done well or some not done at all.

Multitasking is also not good for your health. It adds a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety at work trying to juggle many tasks at the same time.

Smarter working involves stop spreading your thoughts out to several tasks at once and focus on one task at a time. You will get it done better and quicker to then move on to the next task.

Take more breaks

It seems counter-productive, doesn’t it?  Taking more time away from a task can help you get it done quicker? The answer is yes. Breaks are an important necessity to work. Giving your mind and body a break to rest and refresh recharges you to get back after it when you return to work. Your focus will be better to dig in and complete the task.

Don’t spend breaks on the phone. This does nothing to clear your mind and refresh. Take a moment to just sit and think about your day. Close your eyes for a moment or look outside and take in the beauty of the day.

It is very easy to forget about taking a break and just continue working. One way you can remind yourself to stop and take a break is to set an alarm on your computer or phone. Once the alarm goes off get away from your work and take a refreshing break. This is key to work smarter not harder and a great way to reduce stress.

Group similar tasks together

Grouping similar tasks can help you be more efficient because you’re doing similar tasks one after the other. This smarter working strategy is especially useful for small tasks because you can knock out a bunch in a small amount of time.

For example, instead of answering every email as it comes in, schedule blocks of time throughout the day to check and respond to them. Another idea is to set meetings back-to-back or even block time on your calendar for activities that require thought and focus like researching and writing.

Schedule tasks based on your energy levels

Our energy levels are a major part of our productivity. Everyone’s energy comes at different times of the day.

Smarter working involves knowing when your energy level is at its peak. If you know you’re most productive in the early morning, don’t plan meetings or check emails then. Instead, put your most challenging work during the time periods when you’ve got the most energy—and save easy tasks for when you’re dragging.

Trim or reorganize your to-do list

A smaller to-do list is less intimidating and more achievable. Having a long hodge-podge of a to-do list will usually mean more time thinking about the list than starting it.

Working smarter not harder is prioritizing the list to put the most important or near deadline tasks at the top. This to-do list should only have tasks you want to accomplish during the current week. Section off or create another list for longer term or less important tasks that you don’t need to see this week unless you get the top tasks done.

Doing this will help you to plan your day better and make getting things done more efficient and effective.

Use pen and paper when you can

I am an IT guy, among other things, so it may seem strange that I say to use pen and paper when you can, but here’s why. It’s easy to get caught up in tools and apps for all tasks, but some of these come with distractions popping up on your screen and make you lose focus on the task at hand.

It’s most likely required to use a computer to complete a finished product but try to get back to good old pen and paper for taking notes at meetings, brainstorming ideas, and noting things throughout your day. You can formalize them later if need be.

Establish a morning routine

This goes for before work and when you first get to work.

Before work: Start your morning the same way each day. We don’t always think the clearest when we first wake up so a first thing in the morning routine sets a stable path to starting your day right. Take a short walk, catch up on the morning news during breakfast, do some morning affirmations, yoga, and/or meditation.

First thing at work: Greet your coworkers, check email, check tasks that are on your list. Many times, things will pop up overnight or first thing in the morning that become a priority over your planned tasks. Get them done quickly and get back to your tasks.

A morning routine before work and first thing at work requires less thought and gets you on the right path for a strong workday. You can even create a short checklist of what to do if you feel the need.

Establish a closing routine

Just as you have a routine for starting your day, you should also have a routine for the end of your day. This will set you up for a great start the next morning. Cross off tasks you completed today and look at what you want to accomplish tomorrow. Feel good about what you got done and what you will do tomorrow. Straighten up your desk and get it ready for tomorrow. Tell coworkers goodbye and to have a nice evening. There’s nothing wrong with being a nice person. A routine is definitely a key strategy to working smarter not harder.

Respond quickly to people

Get in the habit of responding to people right away. If you open an email that requires a response, take the time to respond right away so that task is off your list immediately. It becomes one less thing off your plate. If you tell someone that you’ll get back to them, try to get back to them as soon as possible. In today’s rush to get everything done our communications skills have diminished. Work on promptly getting back to people and being clear about your response.

Make meetings productive

I hate meetings.  Unfortunately, they are a necessary evil to collaborating, team building, and smarter working. If you are hosting a meeting, go into them with a plan. Have an outline for what you want to cover during the meeting and the desired outcome. Keep the meeting as brief and productive as possible and end with actionable items where everyone knows their part and their tasks.

Work smarter not harder

Working smarter not harder can improve your productivity and performance while increasing your overall job satisfaction and reducing a great amount of stress on you. It will also help you to eliminate time wasters in your busy workday.

Implementing these work smarter not harder strategies takes practice. Start small by trying to implement just a few of these tips at one time, then adding more once you get comfortable with them.

I hope you found them helpful. Leave me a comment of any additional tips you might know or what you think. See my post on Decluttering Your Life, it’s a game changer.