Introduction
Work performance is one of the main determinants that decide your career growth. But the unfortunate part is not many realise it until much later in their professional life. Even those who understand its importance can seldom improve their work performance efficiently because they do not know how to.
For all who are struggling to understand how to ensure steady career growth by enhancing work performance, we have a few of the most straightforward tools and tips that will aid you in improving your work performance.
Tips to boost work performance
The main issue with the mass of us is that we realise the need for improvement, but we don’t know how to do so. Thus, we feel overwhelmed and like a lost cause as more and more work keeps piling up while we spiral downwards without advancing.
In such times, we need to keep our heads clear and incorporate a few rules so that our methods are efficient while the results we produce are top-notch. While it may seem more straightforward, containing these rules is challenging and requires patience, determination, and willpower.
Here are a few tips we would like to share to improve your work performance. Some may seem like no-brainers but remember that knowing and executing are two very different things. Let’s get started!
Having a clear goal in mind
Let us start with the basics — most of the time, an individual struggles to improve or advance in their career because they do not have a clear goal. We are not asking you to have your life planned out.
But having an idea behind why you are doing what you are doing is necessary. It helps you determine the path you will take and the things you will do, and it will motivate you when you go off track. Having a clear goal also helps you understand what you lack, what you need to acquire, and how to do so.
Once you recognise the need to set goals, it is time to break them into long-term and short-term goals. Say, your goal is to increase your company’s sales. But that is a much broader goal. Yes, it gives you a clear idea of what you want, but it is too wide to decide your next step.
So, you create smaller milestones or short-term goals to reach the long-term goal, i.e., to increase company sales. Here, you can add goals such as growing promotional activities, improving social posts, organising an event, collaborating with influencers, etc.
Setting short-term and long-term goals is like taking tiny bites to finish your food instead of going for a giant bite and struggling through it.
Understand your working pace & manage your time
Most people must understand that time management is more than completing things on time. It is more about understanding your working pace and managing your activities accordingly to get the best results.
We advise you to track how you get around completing tasks. Say, a specific job takes 1 hour to end when entirely concentrated. If you try to get that same task done within half an hour, your task will remain incomplete, and you will also stress yourself unnecessarily.
Therefore, you must understand your working pace. Keep track of the time you complete specific tasks and divide your schedule accordingly. You will be astounded by the results! You can also apply it to your personal life and see the improvement for yourself.
We have a few additional tips for you right here:
- Be mindful of how you are utilising your time.
- Create a routine that you can follow and stick to when it comes to work.
- Try and get the difficult task out of the way first.
- Sometimes, saying no is needed, so learn how to say no.
Have yourself organized
Organising yourself is a craft that you can only master through practice. Despite popular beliefs about how organising oneself should be like, we advise you to find your way. Our brains work in complicated manners, and only we can understand how to create a system for ourselves to be efficient and productive. You can develop your organising habits and structure for everything, including documentation, delegation, time management, etc.
For example, some people find to-do lists miraculous while getting things done, while others prefer sticky notes on everything or digital konmari checklists. Find ways to organise yourself that help you build your system and declutter your mind. Start by organising your desk, and you will notice the difference immediately.
Do away with your distractions
Studies have proven that our attention spans are decreasing due to social media and other technologies. As distractions keep increasing around us, it gets harder to accomplish tasks. Here are a few things that you can do to keep your distractions away:
- Look for a space where no one can disturb you (especially if you are working from home)
- Cut out external noise by wearing earphones and playing music (white noise and brown noise are excellent for concentration)
- Train yourself with treats—set goals, such as 15 minutes, and work without getting distracted. Once you have worked for 15 minutes, give yourself a pleasure. Gradually increase the time limit.
- Keep your smartphone in work mode.
Multi-tasking is not the solution
People may tell you that multitasking is a good thing, but it is seldom not. Many people can muti-task easily, but it is a skill one can acquire after much practice. However, we would advise you against it and instead do the following things:
Understand priorities
Instead of doing everything all at once, realise which work is up on the priority list. Divide your work accordingly, and you get things done faster and more efficiently. Otherwise, you will take too many things on your plate and burn yourself out.
Delegate what you can
You can't be a one-person army; even if you can, it is just a recipe for burning yourself out quickly. Instead, delegate tasks that can be trusted—understanding who can do what task is also essential in improving work efficiency at your workplace.
While multitasking may seem tempting and can accomplish targets much faster, there is no guarantee that the results will be good. Often, people who multitask poorly cannot give their best to any tasks they are doing and hence do not reach their true potential. Avoid such situations and focus on one thing at a time to ensure improved work performance.
Work towards your communication skills
The most common advice anyone will offer is to up your communication skills. Whatever your career is — business, corporate, e-com, art-based — everything requires communication to build and grow. You communicate about your business and make contacts to boost your career growth further.
We are also aware that an increasing population has trouble communicating. For that, there are tons of online courses and text materials available that you can rely on. Lastly, practicing also helps a lot.
You can also build communication using the right tools, such as Scribe, to seamlessly collaborate with others, making contact and efficiently getting things done. Here are a few things to keep in mind to improve your communication skills:
- Be mindful of your posture while you are communicating face-to-face.
- Be aware of your tone and intonation. These are the key to effective communication.
- Listening and paying attention to others while they are speaking is very important.
Prioritise your mental & physical health
We quickly write off our mental and physical health as the least important for self-development. But it does not make sense to compromise your mental and physical well-being when they are one of the most important pillars of your development.
Here are a few things you can do to ensure your and your team’s mental and physical well-being:
- Take breaks in between your work. Just 15-20 minutes is enough.
- Eat healthy without skipping meals.
- Drink water and stay hydrated throughout the day.
- Opt for some physical activities like gym or sports
- Consult therapists at least once/twice a year for a general mental health check.
- Follow a proper sleep schedule.
- Give your mind and body a break and take a relaxing vacation whenever you can.
Always stay open to learning
One of the most sure-shot ways of growing is never to stop learning. A continuous learning process will keep you open to new scopes and trends, be it your soft skills, technical skills, or any new skills. Follow these tips to be an active learner:
- Sign up for online crash courses on new skills
- Look for informative materials such as Youtube videos, books, and podcasts
- Get in touch with industry experts
- Attend seminars and conferences
Always introspect & rely on feedback
Simply learning will never be enough. You need to know whether your knowledge and skills are applicable and how well you can utilise them. One of the best ways to figure that out is to ask for feedback.
Be open to constructive criticism from coworkers, employees, managers, and customers. Scribe offers impeccable collaboration features that allow you to exchange ideas which you can use to improve your work constantly.
Also, take your time to reflect on your work and introspect. Always look at your work and ask yourself how it could have been improved. But, do give yourself credit and do not work to impress. That is not a healthy behaviour to adopt.
The right tools can take you a long way
Lastly, let us talk about the types of tools that you can use. Technology has already given us so many tools that it would be a shame not to use them. You have tools for practically every task that you can think of.
One easy-to-use and get tool is Scribe.
Scribe is a process documentation tool that turns any workflow into a visual, how-to. All you need to do is hit record and go through your process as usual — without interrupting your workflow!
Here's how it works.
Scribe is the perfect addition to your career-boosting pack, helping you compose and streamline your work for better productivity.
Record various methods to create excellent and easy-to-follow guides for yourself or your teams. Check out this excellent step-by-step template made with Scribe and Scribe Pages.
You can easily club different processes to make Scribe Pages and share them among your co-workers and collaborators.
Nick from WithMe Health describes Scribe as a “game-changer by making it simple to create visual and informative materials.”
Tools like Scribe and Scribe pages add that additional boost to your work performance and overall self-development for your career.
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Key takeaways: Ways to improve your work performance
There are numerous practices to ensure a boost in work performance, including setting out clear goals, recognising your time pace and managing your time accordingly, organising yourself, cutting down distractions, avoiding multi-tasking, developing communication skills, prioritising your mental and physical health, continuously learning and receiving feedback, and using the right professional tools, such as Scribe and Scribe Pages.
Scribe and Scribe Pages are excellent process documentation applications with visual aids, collaboration scopes, and more. It helps streamline and boost work productivity and performance as efficiently as possible.
Wrapping it up
You can improve your work performance through various means, but the best means is to ensure that you start working towards it and keep at it. Learning and improving your work performance is an ongoing process that you must constantly regulate and check.
Increasing your performance at work may seem impossible; however, if you take the appropriate approach and have some basic materials, it is achievable. Setting attainable goals and prioritising your workload are two simple methods to boost performance. Making a list of things to do or scheduling your day can keep you focused and on track. Additionally, maintaining open communication with your colleagues and supervisor can help you receive feedback and identify areas for improvement.
Another tool that can assist in improving your work performance is Scribe and Scribe Pages. These platforms offer personalized coaching and feedback to help you enhance your writing skills, communication, and overall job performance. Using these resources, you may quickly pinpoint problem areas and implement fixes that will positively affect your productivity and overall enjoyment at work.
Remember, improving your work performance is an ongoing process that requires consistency and dedication. It's essential to assess your progress and adjust accordingly continuously.
So, amp up your work performance with these tips and tools, such as Scribe and Scribe Pages, and you will start noticing the difference yourself. Try Scribe and Scribe Pages for yourself and reach your true professional potential.
