According to a report by Forbes in 2013, 39% of employees waste at least 1 hour each day. 44% of American workers waste time on the job surfing the internet? 6.8% even use employer work hours to conduct their own side business. 1% waste company time by being late to their jobs. These astounding figures are costing U.S. businesses to lost billions of dollars each year.

As an IT professional how can you improve your performance at work by better managing your time on the job?

Here are 5 time management tools you can use to improve your performance and get ahead of your competition in the workplace.

1. The tried and true “To-Do” list: Its true, the to-do list is still one of the most effective tools to ensure that you complete all of your daily tasks in a timely manner. It is an excellent tool across the board for people in all industries, including IT. Each day before you leave, figure out what you need to accomplish the next day and write it down.
2. Don’t multi-task: Multi-tasking is a myth that has, unfortunately, been perpetuated by a society that wants immediate results and gratification. Our brains are not designed to do more than one thing at a time. Instead, when someone says they are good at multi-tasking what they are really good at is prioritizing. Determine which projects get your immediate attention and focus on those.
3. Organize everything with technology: As an IT professional you should be taking as much advantage as possible of the digital tools available today. On your smart phone and desktop use apps that can help you organize your day and priorities. These may include things like Dropbox and Evernote. Give other members of your team access so you can collaborate from anywhere.
4. Only check email two or three times a day: One of the best pieces of advice we ever heard was to not allow your email inbox to act as a To-Do list. While it may seem like reacting to each new email immediately is efficient, it turns out to be quite the opposite. Instead, set aside a few times during the day where all of your attention is paid to email. This prevents emotional responses or drop-everything situations.
5. Schedule social media breaks: Finally, all work and no play does make for unhappy employees. You can’t be a robot chained to your desk 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. Allow yourself two breaks a day, not including lunch, to check your social media or whatever you prefer to do with your time for about 15 minutes. This will keep you engaged throughout the day and committed to the work you’re doing.

Do you want to know more ways to keep yourself productive in the IT department? VincentBenjamin can help today!