The industry norm for full time workers in Australia is 37.5 hours a week, but only a small proportion of workers report working those hours. Most Australian full-time employees work either longer or shorter than this, with around 30% of men and 11% of women stating that they typically work more than 45 hours a week! With such long work hours in these cases, things may fall into disarray quite easily.
Workers with lower hours may also feel this chaos as they attempt to complete an impossible number of tasks in a short amount of time. Here is a short guide to decluttering your work week. It will get you started with creating an efficient working system, that will empower you to work more effectively no matter how many hours you spend at the office.
Automation.
A great way to declutter your work week is by automating time-consuming tasks to make more time for other high priority work. There are many things that can be automated these days, from automatic office supplies ordering, to outsourcing data scraping to a web scraping service.
Think critically about the tasks that occupy a large proportion of your time each day, and assess whether it is fair that they do. High priority tasks should be attended to, while mundane tasks should be reassessed. You may have to think creatively to find a solution to this problem, and might even have to suggest a new process to avoid poor time management.
Recording System.
An inefficient records or filing system can have dire consequences for a busy work week. Searching for data can absorb a huge amount of time, and often we cannot complete high priority tasks without first searching for the relevant paperwork. Switch to a more efficient filing system that will make searching for data quicker and easier.
A better system can also reduce data loss, recording everything on the cloud. If you are currently working with a paper filing system, consider switching to a software-based one. This can not only save paper, but adds an additional layer of protection if the physical files go missing. Assess your current filing system, and think of new ways that it can declutter your work week.
Regular Breaks.
Decluttering your work week should also include decluttering your mind. If you seek a more organised working experience, you should take regular breaks to ensure your mind is operating effectively. Studies show that taking regular breaks can actually increase focus and attention to detail. Sitting at a desk for hours on end can therefore be detrimental to your work capabilities.
Schedule regular breaks and allow your mind to rest. A break can be making a cup of tea, going to the bathroom, or simply walking around the office. If you are considerably busy, switch from a high-priority task to a low-priority task for a short while. Taking a break from writing a report to stock up on blue pens for your desk is a great example of this. Rest your mind and take care of it, you will see the difference.
~
So there we have it, a short guide to decluttering your work week. Automate tasks that ordinarily take up a large portion of your time, assess the efficiency of your filing system and rest your mind through regular breaks. Share these tips with your friends and colleagues and ask if they have any tips of their own. You’ll be on your way to a work week free of disarray in no time! Good luck.
