Over the years, I’ve learned better ways to do things
compared to my less experienced self. When people say, “Work smarter, not
harder,” this is what they mean. These are the things that really would have
been useful to know as a recent college graduate. I hope they are helpful to
those who are new to the workforce.
1. Do your most
difficult tasks during your most productive time of the day. As a young
person just starting your career, you probably have lots of energy all day,
unless you went out drinking the night before. (You should really save that for
the weekends now that you’re in the real world, but that’s not the point of
this post.)
Sometimes, scheduling your tasks is out of your control. For
example, I used to write newspaper stories immediately after meetings at night
because editors needed the stories early the next morning. For non-deadline
stories, however, I had more control over what time of day I did interviews and
writing. I’ve found that I work best when writing and editing in the morning
and doing phone calls in the afternoon. The interactive nature of the phone
calls combats that post-lunch energy decline.
Some people just aren’t morning people. An editor I know
says she does her best work late in the afternoon. Pay
attention to when your energy peaks and plan your day accordingly.
2. Learn from other
people who have been doing your job for a while. I know, you have a fresh,
new diploma and you think you know everything. Trust me, you don’t. You may
have aced your classes, but you haven’t had a real-world application of that
knowledge. Even an internship is not a true representation of the work world,
because companies often go easy on interns. I think that’s generally the norm,
although I did have one superior who was mean to me when I was an intern. I
guess I should thank her for helping me accept criticism and develop a thick
skin.
In my first job, I observed how organized
one of the senior reporters kept his desk and files. There was this calmness
about him that was missing in the newbies. Lesson: Organization creates calmness.
3. Use the right tools
for the job. In my first job, we had a poorly outfitted photography
department. The photographers had their own equipment, but the reporters had to
fight over the small collection of old manual cameras and detachable flashes.
Shooting with available light when there were no flashes available made me a
better photographer, but I should have just used my own camera instead of
worrying about the risk of damaging it.
4. Be a multi-switcher,
not a multi-tasker. Some people think it’s great to be able to do
more than one thing at a time. In my opinion, one of the two or more tasks
you’re doing suffers, whether you know it or not. The person you’re trying to
talk to while you’re in mid-text will notice you’re not making eye contact. Plus,
you might miss something that person said to you. Instead, focus your energy on
one task at a time and learn to switch quickly from one task to another.
For example, say you have several things you need to do.
(You should always have several things you need to do, or you should be worried
that you aren’t valuable enough to keep on the payroll!) Start with the task
that’s most urgent. Maybe that’s a sales report that takes 30 minutes to run.
Get that started, and then start on something else while it’s running.
During college, I forced myself to complete my studying for
each class before moving to the next subject I needed to work on that day. I
wish I could go back in time and kick myself and tell myself that it was ok to
switch between classes. I could have been much more efficient that way! I
didn’t discover this until I needed to develop this skill on the job when
working on multiple news stories every day.
That brings me to my next topic…
5. Break projects into
smaller tasks. Even if you were
successful at writing 15-page essays a day before they were due in school, you
won’t believe how much easier it is to work on a project in phases. Sometimes,
getting started is the hardest part. Take 10 minutes to jot down some ideas for
that report you need to give your boss next week. Then, when you have another
20 minutes, flesh it out more. It’s even better if you have a day or two in
between working on it, because your brain will have time to think about it.
Once you’ve started the thought process, you might have a report-related
thought pop into your head while you’re on the treadmill or watering your
plants. Stop what you’re doing (Please, stop the treadmill first or you will
have a nasty fall!) and write it down or make a note in your phone.
When you have another 20-30 minutes that you can devote to writing
that report, look at your notes and develop them further. Now that it’s really
taking shape, you should be able to set it aside and give it a final review
later.
I’m sure there are other tips out there, but these are the
ones that have helped me the most. Please add your own suggestions in a comment
if you’d like to share them.
