Sadly, men in the UK still out-earn women by a staggering 17.5
per cent, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics. But it might shock you even more to learn that, as well as taking home less pay, women are putting in more hours.
Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that women are working an average of 34 hours a week, four hours more than five years ago. Over the same five-year period, men’s average work hours fell. But instead of a pay rise or bonus to show for the extra work, women are being rewarded with stress, anxiety and heart-related illness.Stress is taking its toll on women’s health, with cardiovascular disease killing 82,000 women in the UK each year compared with 79,000 men, and young women are now more likely to get heart disease than any form of cancer. The good news is, you don’t have to work yourself into an early grave to get sh*t done. In fact, the more you look after yourself, monitor your stress levels and stay healthy – mentally and physically - the more efficiently you’ll be able to work. Here, our experts reveal their top time and energy saving tips to help you work smarter, not harder.
tackle your procrastinating head-on
As the old saying goes: don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,
but sometimes that’s easier said than done – especially when it comes to that one report that’s been nagging you from your in-tray for months. The best way to tackle procrastination, says Magdalena, is to figure out why you are putting off getting that particular task done. ‘If you are delaying because of a lack of will, interrogate your true motivations and real wants. If it’s a question of ability or skill, get the necessary information, training or hire an expert in this area,’ she advises. And, if your buzzing phone is zapping your focus, shut those distractions down, she adds. ‘Lock yourself away from your phone and email for a period of time. Take what you need with you and work in a space conducive to your best work.
Work up a first draft
Not sure where to start with a particular task? Dive in head first with a quick first draft or mock-up, which you can perfect later. Magdalena says you should complete a first rough draft within an allocated time frame first, then you can pad it out afterwards. ‘Work to a time clock or an hourglass,’ she suggests. ‘Aim to complete a “dirty draft” in five minutes or some short chunk of time and then focus on improving it,’ she says. When you’re deep into a task, resist the urge to check emails. ‘Instead, set a time when you check emails and log out,’ says Magdalena.
Do one thing at a time:
When you are faced with a to-do list longer than a supermodel’s limbs, the feeling of panic can be overwhelming. But instead of gawping open-mouthed at the list as a whole, break it down into manageable chunks. In other words: tackle one thing at a time. ‘Start with the tasks you are most attracted to (assuming they are all key tasks to be done). Complete it, and then move on to the next,’ says Magdalena. You can learn to do the things that need to be done without getting distracted by all those things that don’t matter as much, she adds. ‘If you follow your heart and work on things that really matter to you and understand why they matter, your need-to-be-done tasks transform into tasks you want to do.’
Spend time on a filing system
Streamlining your email inbox and clearing the masses of loose papers and post-it notes off your desk might sound as appealing as filing your calluses, but if you invest in a bit of organisation up front, it will pay off. ‘Spend
a couple of hours creating a document structure that makes sense to you,’ Magdalena advises. ‘Draw it out. Then park a few files in it with post-its. Leave it for
a week or two and check whether your file structure still makes sense. If it does, implement it. One thing worth keeping in mind is having files organised by logical criteria that reflect your way of working be it by year, client or project,’ she says. ‘Regarding email, aim to clear your inbox to zero at the end of the day, and set up blockers for junk,’ she adds.
nix bad lifestyle habits
When you’re consistently working late or working through lunch, it’s easy to let bad diet and sleep patterns creep in – a late-night takeaway here, a pre-packed sandwich scoffed on the hop there. But the more you invest in self-care, the easier it will be to tackle your burgeoning workload, says Karen Meager, co-author
of Real Leaders For The Real World and a leadership development consultant
with Monkey Puzzle Training & Consultancy (monkeypuzzletraining.co.uk). ‘Do not underestimate the importance of factors including getting enough sleep, eating well and taking regular breaks,’ says Karen. ‘Poor diet can lead to irritability, decreased energy and even losing the ability to think clearly. Lack of sleep is often cited as being as detrimental to performance as being drunk. Regular breaks will help restore both your body and mind from a heavy workload. Pin up a page of desk stretches next to your computer and make sure you do them throughout the day. Your body and mind will thank you,’ she adds.
Don't get bogged down in details
If you’re a perfectionist, it’s easy to get bogged down
in the nitty gritty of a task – which usually means it takes six hours to complete something that should take an hour. ‘Perfectionists have the tendency to get endlessly stuck on a task, retracing their steps, making huge numbers of minor improvements and never feeling what they are doing is quite good enough,’ says Karen. ‘One way to beat perfectionism is to starve it of the time it needs to thrive.
If you create your own deadlines and set yourself a number of tasks to be completed before the end of the day, you are aiming towards being
driven to complete within a sensible time frame rather than letting tasks become ongoing and endless.’
Learn to be a team player
Whether you’re too independent to ask for help or not confident enough to delegate, women are increasingly guilty of trying to do everything themselves. Karen says that learning to delegate and say no when it’s needed is crucial to effectively managing your workflow. ‘Make better use of delegation and try not to micromanage,’ she says. ‘Learn to say no – and to mean it.’
via Featured Articles http://www.womensfitness.co.uk/health/1401/shrink-your-workload
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