Wasting time at your desk is a death sentence for new employees. The first 90 days in a new job should be spent learning the business, meeting your coworkers and getting things done. Ideally, you can do the tasks assigned to you as well as create work for yourself (because you’re a proactive team player, right?). Procrastination is not an option.
Learning to be über productive over the course of an eight hour day requires more than just doing work, you need to plan. Here are some of the things I started doing to increase my productivity as a new employee:
1. Write down what you’re going to do for the day as soon as you get to work, or even the night before, and don’t leave until it’s done. When a blank stare creeps across your face and you’re ready to call it quits, look at your list, it will help you get back in gear. Make this a habit and your productivity will jump.
2. When your mind has left the building, do something mindless. Whether it’s stuffing envelopes, returning sales calls or organizing your desk, something is still getting done. Listen to music or a podcast while you do your menial tasks, it’s like a little vacation for you mind.
3. Do something you want to do – especially when your superiors are giving you work that just doesn’t interest you. Think of something that falls within your scope of responsibility that can benefit the company, something new. Be an innovator. Continue to work on your assigned projects but when your interest trails off, make some progress on your own projects. It will keep you interested and motivated when other assignments start to wear you down.
4. Don’t forget, even a few minutes is enough time to make progress. It’s like saving money, even a few dollars adds up over the long run. The same goes for work. Instead of sitting for a half hour at the end of the day because you don’t think there’s enough time to get into something new, chip away at something. It doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking, just the light housekeeping that goes with any project.
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