Business

Leaving work at work

24/05/2011 Office of Road Safety

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With our iPhones and wireless internet access it is easier than ever to take work home with us. Today we look at ways to increase your efficiency while you are at work and how to switch off without feeling guilty when you do leave the office.

Have you ever interrupted a family meal or even your child’s reading time with a business call or by checking your email? You’re not alone, it is becoming harder and harder to separate work and home life.

Priority Management facilitator/trainer Maria Pilos-Narron says what might start out as an occasional issue or a backup strategy can easily become a habit. “With greater work demands, our daily work tasking can almost become defaulted to ‘getting some work done at home’,” she says.

“Even ten years ago, 54 per cent of WA adults reported using their home computers for work. It’s hard to resist providing or responding to information when we know we have the capability to get it done, and our colleagues know we have the capacity too.  Whether we are at our child’s sports event, riding the bus or at a restaurant, the urge is to ‘get things done’ because we can.” 

So how do we maximise our work productivity so we feel less compelled to work at home? Maria says it’s all about knowing your goals and objectives and making a conscious decision to become more productive during work hours. “Productivity involves several key areas – planning, prioritisation and focus,” Maria says.

Maria's top tips for separating work and home are:

• Know your outcome and how it can be achieved.
• Prioritise your day with the ‘have to’ tasks. 
• Separate ‘have to’ tasks from ‘would be nice’ is crucial.  
• Stay focused.  Staying focused means recognising what is a non-priority and lessening your time on these items to allow more time for high priorities.

To stop the temptation of checking your work email from home, Maria says it is important to know your plan and follow it. “And to help, don’t bring your laptop home or leave it in your car boot,” she says.

“With your smart phone, turn off email notifications upon leaving work each day. Let your colleagues know of your new behavior and, as a consequence, you will probably receive fewer evening emails.  Also, stop yourself!  Stop from constantly feeling the need to check your phone.  Upon leaving work, consciously decide to fill your mind with non-work elements such as listening to the radio or just being silent.”

For more information about Priority Management or time management techniques visit  www.prioritymanagement.com .