Office_Productivity

Administrative/Clerical: What is Your Biggest Office Productivity Killer?

Office productivity is important for administrative professionals, as your boss often reviews you based on how much work you get done. Many of the tools you use help you increase productivity, but others are office productivity killers. If you regularly use these tools, you may not be as productive as you need to be during your workday. The biggest office productivity killer varies from one administrative professional to the next, but these are some of the top offenders.

A June 19 article in the Courier-Islander lists some of the top office-productivity killers. Email is one of the biggest, as it can distract you from all the tasks you need to complete. While you can’t abandon email completely, you can control how many times you check it each day. You can also control when to use email and when to use the telephone or in-person communication instead. Choosing the most efficient means of communication for the situation is a good way to increase your productivity as an administrative professional.

Surfing the Internet is another way to reduce your office productivity. OfficeTime surveyed more than six hundred people to determine the biggest office productivity killers. Web surfing took the number two spot, as 80 percent of the people surveyed reported spending more than two hours per day on this activity. While you may need to use the Web to perform some administrative duties, limit your browsing to work-related tasks to avoid killing time that could be better used for other tasks.

If you’ve ever attended a meeting that didn’t seem to have a point, then you know that meetings can be another big drain on office productivity. You may not be able to control the number of meetings you have to attend, but you can suggest that your boss limit the number of meetings held in your department. You can also suggest preparing a formal agenda for each meeting so that your colleagues do not start killing time discussing other topics.

Social networking is fun, but it won’t boost your office productivity. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other networks allow you to connect with other people, share photos and videos, and even make new business contacts. In the OfficeTime survey, 75 percent of the people who responded said they spend up to two hours per day using social media. If you need to increase your productivity, stay away from social networks during working hours.

Managing your time well is necessary for success in the administrative field. It can also help you reduce the stress associated with juggling dozens of tasks each day. If you need to increase your office productivity, try avoiding some of these productivity killers. You will accomplish more, and your supervisor may even give you better performance reviews, which can decrease your stress at work and increase your overall income.

Nancy Anderson is the communities and article Editor for Beyond.com.  Nancy has 10 years experience in the online job search business with Beyond.  Nancy’s team produces dozens of articles every month for top internet sites.  Follow Nancy and the Beyond team on https://twitter.com/BeyondJobs.

 

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