Are you the type of person who works extra hard and extends his or her stay in the office just to chip more work down? Instead of accomplishing most of the tasks early, you instead opt to extend your working hours, even bringing some of your work home?
If so, you are doing it all wrong. Ever wondered why working smart is better than just working hard? If you’ll look at the practice in different countries around the world, working for eight hours is the norm. In some countries, they even allow offices to work less.
It is best to practice working early, and end work on time. If official working hours start at 9am, it is a good idea to be ready 30 minutes earlier. And once the work day ends, it is equally beneficial to step out of the work area on time.
So why make it a habit to work early and end work on time?
Be able to do more
The practice of working early has been proven effective in maximizing skills and energy. It is possible to maximize your productivity at work by working early. In fact, there are even more and more individuals today who are developing their very own morning habits just to get that boost of energy, in the morning even without the use of caffeinated drinks.
By starting work early, you get to skip the traffic, and you may even impress your boss, who could give you a raise in your salary.
Reassess your overall productivity
One of the best ways to avoid backlogs is to re-evaluate what you are doing wrong. By changing your approach at work, you can reassess your overall productivity. By ending work on time, you are forced to finish everything that has to be accomplished within working hours.
Do you tend to have so much clutter in your workplace that it has already affected the way you think? Or perhaps you don’t have a clear agenda on what you are going to do for the entire day? By starting work early with a clear mind, you can be more organized on how to tackle the next eight hours.
Life isn’t all about work
What you need to realize is that there are other more important things that you can do other than your work. It could be a hobby or quality time with your family and friends. For most people who work extra hard, even after regular working hours, they tend to sacrifice precious time with family and friends.
Making it a habit to end work on time lessens the amount of time lost, which could’ve been spent on things that truly matter.
If you are the type who flakes out of appointments that have been set weeks ahead, just because you are caught up at work, you could avoid these instances from happening by starting your work early, and ending your work on time.
Ending work on time is a sign of effective time management
One of the most difficult things to do is to be productive throughout the entire working hours. Being able to finish the work on time, means that the company can rely on you to deliver work efficiently, effectively beating deadlines.
By being able to do this consistently, it isn’t surprising how easy it will be to get the attention of management. There is a possibility that you may even get a raise or a promotion.
Get rid of your unhealthy practices
Ever wondered why people smoke outside their offices? Or why people end up gaining weight all of a sudden after months of working for a certain company? These are manifestations of poor stress management brought on by work.
By getting most of your work done on the early part of your shift, and leaving work on time, you can prevent stress from mounting, which will eliminate negative triggers to smoke, binge or do anything unhealthy.
Get quality sleep at night
Do you go to work tired because your sleep the night before wasn’t enough to get you fully recovered? If this is the case, you need to re-evaluate how many hours you really spend on work. A common problem encountered by people is having a difficult time sleeping because of being too stressed. In fact, for some individuals, they even consider quitting their job just so that they can catch up on more sleep.
Lessen the tendency to get burned out
People extending their work in the office have the tendency to get burned out sooner. In fact, this is the last thing that employers want. Not only is it hard to replace an employee, it can also disrupt the overall functions in the company.
To avoid this type of scenario from happening, employees can change their habits instead. Working early and ending work on time can give you better control at the workplace.
Avoid mistakes
When you work late, you have the tendency to commit more mistakes because your mind and your body are already tired. It is so easy to lose focus on your work when the mind and the body are exhausted. The sad thing about this kind of practice is that there’s a chance of either passing poor quality output, or repeating the same work in the morning.
Conclusion
Work allows us to earn money, pay our bills, and even accomplish some of our dreams. Aside from monetary compensation, work also gives us a purpose to society. Unfortunately, there are times when work also prevents us from enjoying life. When work takes control in most areas of our waking hours, it’s time that we re-evaluate what we really want in life.
The simple habit of starting things off early and ending work on time is a great way to re-calibrate your life. It allows you to move with a purpose, without sacrificing other important aspects of your life.
The next time that you stay late for work think about the repercussions of doing so! Try to re-evaluate what you can do in order to get more work done.