If you’re struggling to stay on top of your work during the pandemic the good news is that you’re not the only one. There are a few reasons you might be falling behind, one of the most obvious being your level of engagement. Employee engagement has been on business leaders’ radars for some years now, and rightly so because an engaged employee is 44% more productive than someone who is simply satisfied at work. But remaining focused during a global health crisis might not be easy, and adapting to a new way of working may also have thrown off your daily routine. Equipping yourself and your team with time-saving tools is just one secret to staying on top of your work during a pandemic, read on for more.

Rediscover the power of a to-do list

To-do lists keep you accountable for your work and ensure that no task falls through the cracks. Think about splitting your list so that you can visualise what needs to be done in the short-term and long-term.

  • The daily to-do list. Seeing how much you can get done in one day will keep you motivated and on track. But make sure to leave some wriggle room and keep it a fluid plan so that you can pick up any urgent tasks that come your way. You might include contacting prospects or clients and any internal meetings as your daily tasks.
  • The monthly to-do list. No one wants to be overwhelmed with a multiple page to-do list, so those less urgent tasks should be saved for this space. The best thing about this list is when you have a spare 30 minutes in the day you can take a look at it and pick out a task, whether it’s to update your CRM activity, review KPIs or make connections via LinkedIn. Using Trello you can assign a due date to tasks to help you stay organised.
  • The done list. Seeing how much you’ve achieved in the week or month will act as a morale booster and is a great tactic to keep sight of the work you’ve delivered.

Create SMART goals

Having goals will help you track your progress and make sure that what you’re doing day-to-day aligns with your career progression route. A Harvard Business Review study found that most people don’t have personal goals, but those who did and had them written down were 10 times more likely to be successful. But the general management magazine highlights that one of the tricks to achieving big goals is to start small. Think of a goal that you’re confident you can achieve and question whether is it SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely.

Mute social media and news notifications

Those of us who have a smartphone – which realistically is almost everyone – receive around 46 push notifications each day. Each time your screen lights up it pulls your focus away from your work and even though that might just be for a second, it can take minutes for your mind to focus back on the task at hand. So it’s important to hit the mute button on the noise you don’t need to hear during the working day and this includes any social media news apps. By removing push notifications from news apps and limiting the number of times you check the headlines a day, you’ll be able to keep your attention span intact and protect your mental wellbeing.

 Practice wellness

While there’s an air of uncertainty about the future it looks as though the pandemic may have changed the working world for good. Perhaps you’re figuring out how to make working from home work for you or facing the challenge of leading a remote team, either way, it’s important to take note of the positive change and confront any new challenges. For some people, a more flexible daily routine will have helped them to improve their work-life balance, while others will need to focus more on making a clearer distinction between their work and home life. If you have a busy schedule and find it difficult staying on top of your work, it’s even more important to factor in time to focus on your mental health and read up on how to practice wellness at home.

Find out what BMS can do for you

So now we’ve shared the secret to staying on top of your work during a pandemic it’s time to put a plan into action. At BMS, we want to help you navigate the new world of work and show you how to guide your sales team through a crisis. With 30 years’ experience in recruitment and 15 specialist divisions focusing entirely on the talent in your market, we know just what’s needed to build a first-class team. Contact us to find out what we can do for you.