How to Save Time on those Essential Office Tasks

Doesn’t it often feel as if we waste too much time while at work? Even when we use task management tools and technology, we still waste time trawling emails and on fake work. Tasks that should take mere moments drag out, reducing productivity and sapping our energy. A recent study by Workfront found that most employees spend just 44% of their working day carrying out their main duties. It doesn’t have to be this way; here are some tips for saving time on those essential office tasks by speeding up non-productive and non-profitable office tasks.

Keyboard Shortcuts

It’s amazing how much time you can save by using keyboard shortcuts. The simple ones are common knowledge such as Ctrl + C for copying, Ctrl + X for cutting, and Ctrl + V for pasting. Did you know about Ctrl + Shift + M for new email in Outlook? Or Ctrl + O to open the most recently received message? Then there is Ctrl + G to group images when creating a PowerPoint presentation, Ctrl + Z to quick undo in Word and Excel. Even if you use a package other than Microsoft Office, it will have shortcuts. Even web browsers have shortcuts which they helpfully include in the menus.

Cloud Storage

Do colleagues still email files to each other? That takes precious minutes, especially when uploading big attachments. If such an email is caught in the server, it can take a while to get through. This wastes time when sending a file to somebody sitting just a few feet away or in the next office. Storing all your files on shareable folders in the cloud such as Dropbox means there is no longer a need to email to colleagues. All you need is a couple of seconds to synchronize the file and it will do this automatically before they’ve even noticed it’s happened.

Cloud Collaboration Tools

We mentioned earlier that people waste time sifting through emails to find assigned tasks. While you may not be able to do much to reduce incoming emails, you can prioritize urgent work by skipping emails altogether. Collaboration tools like Freedcamp and Evernote make assigning tasks fast and easy, with attachments, notes and comments from all involved. Similarly with a task management organizer such as Trello. Bypass emails with a direct message app such as Slack which allows real time collaboration.  Your employees can get more done when they bypass the parts of their job that sap their time.