10 Ways People Are Secretly Making Their Jobs Easier Without Their Boss Noticing
Work takes up so much our our time, why not make it easier on ourselves?
Roman Samborskyi | Shutterstock Many employees look for ways to make their work more efficient, often developing subtle productivity hacks that go unnoticed by their managers. By streamlining tasks and leveraging shortcuts, they complete more work in less time, boosting their efficiency and value to the company.
These minor adjustments increase productivity and create more opportunities for innovation and strategic thinking.
Here are 11 ways people are secretly making their jobs easier without their boss noticing:
1. Keyboard shortcuts
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Learning and utilizing keyboard shortcuts can save you time on routine tasks if you work in a tech-related field. Keyboard shortcuts allow us to perform tasks faster, reducing the need to navigate menus or click buttons.
Some research suggests that keyboard shortcuts can be even faster than using a mouse.
A few of the most frequently used keyboard shortcuts include Ctrl+C (copy), Ctrl+V (paste), Ctrl+X (cut), Ctrl+Z (undo), Ctrl+A (select all), and Ctrl+F (find).
Thanks to these shortcuts, we spend far less time completing tasks and more time being innovative.
2. Batching tasks
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This popular productivity strategy involves grouping similar tasks and getting them done in designated time blocks to enhance efficiency.
Let’s say you have several tasks for the day, including responding to emails, making phone calls, writing reports, and creating a presentation.
If you want to task batch, you will allocate a set number of hours throughout your day to each task. Your first couple of hours at work may be spent reading and responding to your emails, and the next few may be designated to catching up on phone calls.
The rest of the day will consist of completing those reports and creating the presentation.
Many efficient employees find that staying on one specific task instead of jumping on multiple tasks simultaneously saves them much time and energy.
3. Setting up templates
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Creating templates for emails, reports, and presentations consistently used at your job will save you more time than you can imagine. It streamlines repetitive tasks, standardizes processes, and improves efficiency.
Rather than replicating structures that you use daily, building a designated template will allow you to focus more on the core content of the work rather than the formatting, freeing up time for more strategic and creative work.
4. Time-blocking
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Time-blocking is an efficient time management strategy in which employees can schedule specific tasks for designated time slots to allow for faster completion.
For example, you may designate the first couple of hours at work as your “email time” where you read and respond to emails. After lunch, you may focus on project completion.
Time blocking even includes scheduling personal time for yourself, so you can give yourself a mental break instead of cramming in all your work tasks at once. To maintain focus, avoid switching tasks when dedicated to a specific job.
One workplace study found that 45% of people agreed that regular context-switching reduced their productivity. Time-blocking avoids this by ensuring that every task is given just as much attention as the others, so workers can focus more on being productive.
5. Creating workflows
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Creating a workflow identifies specific tasks or projects that you want to streamline. For example, you may want to tackle onboarding new clients or handling customer support tickets efficiently.
To ensure this is all accomplished, you will create the most efficient workflow for completing the tasks on time. This may consist of identifying a goal you wish to achieve through these tasks, determining the sequence of tasks, setting specific conditions for the workflow, and testing it to confirm efficiency.
6. Prioritizing to-dos
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Setting priorities at work is essential for managing tasks effectively and ensuring you meet deadlines without feeling overwhelmed.
Normally, your priorities at work consist of urgent matters, such as deadlines that need to be met.
Identifying these urgent matters and scheduling uninterrupted time to complete them is essential. Focusing on issues that can be achieved without time restraints will only waste time you should spend on more significant tasks.
Yale research suggests prioritizing work by breaking tasks up into smaller pieces with a goal in mind and minimizing distractions.
7. Customizing software
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Employees, especially those with experience in the tech industry, can simplify their work tasks by customizing software to align with their specific workflow.
Some opt to adjust their software to match a company's unique workflows to save time. Tasks that would normally require manual effort, such as data entry, approvals, and notifications, can be automated.
For example, customizing a project management tool such as Asana or Trello to assign tasks automatically can eliminate the need for manual task delegation.
8. Reducing work load when the boss isn’t around
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A Plansponsor survey found that 18% of employees admitted to getting less work done when their bosses are out of the office.
When the boss is away, many employees who spend most of their time busting their butts working take it upon themselves to allot time for a much-needed break, or even decide to pack up and head out for the day altogether.
When their bosses aren’t there to track their productivity and breathe down their necks, it is easy for employees to be less productive and make their jobs more enjoyable.
9. Building relationships with colleagues
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Even if your boss may not encourage you to develop meaningful friendships with your colleagues, some employees find that doing so makes their job easier.
Having a close bond with those you work with can build trust and community, improving team collaboration, which is essential to getting things done at work.
It can also facilitate effective problem-solving at work, as people may feel more comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns with their colleagues.
“A supportive network of colleagues can be a valuable source of emotional support during challenging times,” Megan Dalla-Camina, the founder and CEO of Women Rising, shared with Psychology Today. “Sharing your concerns with trusted coworkers can reduce stress and improve work-life balance.”
10. Taking advantage of downtime
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Even if their boss does not allow them much downtime, employees may take advantage of it to make their jobs easier. Taking a break, even during the work day, can improve your focus, reduce stress, and allow you the much-needed time to rest your brain to return to work feeling refreshed.
Despite what some strict bosses may think, taking advantage of downtime does not detract from employee productivity.
A study by the Draugiem Group found that the most productive employees worked for 52 minutes and then took a 17-minute break.
So, if you feel burnt out and need downtime, don’t be afraid to use it!
Megan Quinn is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on justice in the workplace, personal relationships, parenting debates, and the human experience.