Simple Hacks on How to Work Faster Without Burning Out

We’ve all been there: staring at a mountain of tasks, feeling the pressure of deadlines looming. It’s in these moments that mastering how to work faster becomes less of a luxury and more of a necessity.

But how do you work faster without sacrificing quality? It’s a question that plagues even the most seasoned professionals.

The good news is, it is possible. By making small tweaks to your workflow and adopting some clever techniques, you can dramatically boost your output, impressing both your boss and yourself.

Ready to break free from the shackles of inefficiency and unlock your true work potential? Keep reading this guide on how to work faster to supercharge your productivity and reclaim your time.

Why Work Faster? More Than Just Getting Things Done

The desire to learn how to work faster often stems from a desire for greater efficiency and control over one’s work day. Let’s face it, finishing work earlier often translates to more free time to invest in personal projects, hobbies, or simply relaxing and recharging.

But the benefits extend far beyond just checking items off your to-do list. Imagine finally waving goodbye to those late-night scrambles to meet deadlines. When you have a firm handle on your workload, you reduce stress and anxiety, improving your overall well-being.

Ditch the Overwhelm, Find Your Flow

That feeling of being perpetually buried under a mountain of tasks? It’s a surefire way to kill creativity and motivation.

On the flip side, when you have the tools to eliminate distractions and manage your workload effectively, you create space for your best work to emerge. You enter a state of “flow,” where you’re completely absorbed in your tasks, and time seems to fly by.

Plus, consistently delivering high-quality work in a timely manner builds confidence in your abilities. This can lead to new opportunities, greater responsibility, and even career advancement. Now, who wouldn’t want that?

Additionally, incorporating methods like time blocking, taking regular breaks, or using time tracking can increase your efficiency and ensure that your work quality remains high. These tools help you finish tasks faster and maintain good work habits, which improves productivity and opens doors to new opportunities.

How to Work Faster by Working Smart, Not Just Harder

Increasing your work speed isn’t about transforming into a robot overnight; it’s about finding smarter ways to approach your tasks. Often, a few strategic changes to your work habits can make a world of difference.

1. Embrace the Power of Planning (and Realistic Goals)

We often overestimate what we can achieve in a working day. We set overly ambitious targets, then end the day feeling defeated by an ever-growing to-do list. Sound familiar?

This is where realistic planning comes in. Take a moment to prioritize tasks using the Eisenhower Matrix, a popular time management tool. Here, you can categorize tasks as either urgent/important, not urgent/important, urgent/not important, or not urgent/not important.

By identifying those mission-critical items and tackling them first, you ensure maximum impact and avoid wasting time on less important activities. It might be helpful to break your business’s administrative tasks and manual tasks into more manageable segments as well.

It’s equally important to be realistic about how much time tasks will actually take. This will help to prevent that dreaded feeling of being overwhelmed and reduce the likelihood of resorting to procrastination, which can slow work tasks.

Planning allows you to finish tasks faster and helps to avoid long tasks piling up.

2. Minimize Distractions (and Master Your Workspace)

Distractions are the enemies of focus. They come in all forms—from that incessant ping of new email notifications to the alluring siren call of social media.

One study found that 67% of workers felt that an overload of meetings hampered their ability to get work done.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t distract ourselves too. Have you checked Instagram recently, or maybe popped into TikTok? Admit it; we’ve all been there. Consider utilizing one of many great available social media blocking tools to help you focus on what’s important.

Remember those tempting news websites as well—easy to get sucked into those rabbit holes. News websites can cause the average person to fritter away a whopping hour and five minutes per day.

And let’s not forget about our old nemesis—social media, clocking in at an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes of daily distraction.

See a pattern here? It’s clear that identifying those personal productivity vampires and proactively minimizing them is key to enhancing efficient work and improving good work habits.

Creating a designated workspace that’s free from clutter and interruptions, while incredibly helpful to many, isn’t always feasible. Luckily, noise-canceling headphones and website-blocking apps are your best friends.

If those fail, see if you can escape to a quieter corner of the office or, if possible, work from home for a couple of hours. Remember: a focused mind is a productive mind.

3. Listen to Music

Who doesn’t love a good power anthem or a soothing instrumental track to set the mood? But did you know that music helps improve your work output? Research reveals that choosing specific types of music can actually make a significant impact and help you complete tasks faster.

Consider these findings:

So, the next time you’re tackling a big project or grappling with a challenging report, maybe give classical music a try.

If you’re feeling bogged down in time tracking or spreadsheets, crank up some rock anthems and watch your fingers fly across the keyboard, increasing your speed and accuracy.

4. Rethinking Multitasking: The Power of Single-Tasking

We live in a world where the ability to juggle multiple tasks is often touted as a badge of honor.

But contrary to popular belief, multitasking can actually hinder, rather than help, productivity. Research has consistently shown that multitasking actually decreases efficiency by 40%, especially for complex tasks that require deep concentration.

This is where the concept of “single-tasking” comes into play.

By dedicating focused blocks of focus time to complete a single task at a time, you give your brain the opportunity to fully engage, leading to higher quality work in a shorter amount of time. This method also minimizes the need for context-switching—that mentally taxing process of jumping back and forth between different projects.

In fact, studies have shown it takes approximately 23 minutes to refocus after being interrupted.

By resisting the urge to juggle multiple things at once, you’ll be amazed at how work expands to the time allotted.

That’s how to work faster in this digital age!

And let’s be real: wouldn’t we all prefer to do things once and do them well to finish tasks faster?

5. Streamline, Automate, Delegate: Reclaiming Your Time

Research shows people often spend an unnecessary amount of time (three hours) on tasks that could be streamlined, automated, or even delegated. This technique works particularly well when you’re trying to increase productivity or learn how to work faster.

Automating tasks is all about using technology to take care of repetitive or time-consuming tasks so that you don’t have to. These tools work in various ways and can include anything from email filters and scheduling apps to more advanced tools such as Zapier.

For example, if you frequently find yourself copying information between different applications, a tool like Zapier can be a real lifesaver. Zapier lets you create automated workflows, known as “Zaps.” This can be especially helpful if you have trouble focusing on routine tasks.

Imagine setting up a Zap that automatically saves new email attachments directly to your Dropbox folder — without you lifting a finger. There’s even a Zap to create and send an agenda ahead of time, streamlining your meeting prep.

Or maybe you frequently find yourself scrambling to log attendees on. Automate that process with this Zap to send meeting reminders, the agenda, and the Zoom link directly to Slack. This approach not only improves productivity but also increases speed when handling routine tasks.

You can also investigate the myriad of Hive Automate tools that are available. They might be a good idea for your business if you’re looking to save time and effort.

Mastering Meetings: How to Be Efficient With Your Time

Ever notice how easily meetings can sprawl out, hijacking valuable time that could be used for actual work? Here’s the cold, hard truth: unproductive meetings are a major productivity killer.

Luckily, with a few tactical tweaks, you can transform meetings from time-wasters to efficiency powerhouses. One way to do this is to track the time allotted for each meeting, ensuring it’s spent wisely.

6. Prioritize Presence Over Presentation

Meetings are not meant to be elaborate presentations. This can be difficult for some personalities who feel the need to prepare excessively beforehand, often adding unneeded stress.

Meetings should be opportunities for collaborative discussion, efficient decision-making, and focused problem-solving.

Before scheduling your next one, think: could this be accomplished with a well-crafted email instead? Embracing this approach can free up significant blocks of time to be dedicated to deep, focused work.

7. The Power of Brevity: Timeboxing Your Meetings

Just because Outlook defaults to hour-long meeting blocks doesn’t mean you need to fill them.

If your goal is to learn how to work faster, one surprisingly easy tactic is to strategically shorten meeting times to 15 or 45 minutes instead of the standard hour. Time tracking can help you keep an eye on these shorter meetings.

Some often perform their best in the mornings, while others tend to hit peak performance mid-day—an important thing to consider when booking those power meetings, especially if you’re a morning person.

Shorter, more focused meetings force attendees to get straight to the point, resulting in quicker decisions and less wasted time. It also helps if the team lead or a project manager shares a clear agenda beforehand, so attendees arrive fully prepared and aware of the topics to be covered.

The key? Intentionality and respectful collaboration—the winning combo.

FAQs

How can I force myself to work faster?

Forcing yourself to work faster can be counterproductive. A better approach is to focus on creating an environment and mindset that supports productivity. This means minimizing distractions, setting realistic deadlines, and prioritizing your tasks effectively.

You can try utilizing different techniques like listening to music, but most importantly, allow yourself sufficient breaks, such as after answering emails

How to make work go quicker?

Want to know how to make work go quicker? Identify your personal time-wasters. Are you constantly getting pulled into unnecessary meetings, struggling to focus due to distractions, or failing to prioritize key tasks?

By streamlining workflows, mastering your schedule, and adopting proven productivity hacks like time-boxing and the “Eat the Frog” method, you can shift your mindset from “dreading work” to “crushing goals” and still have time for an evening stroll.

Or post job reminders on your calendar for better task management.

What is the 11 AM technique?

Imagine your day ends at 11 am—that’s the essence of this productivity hack. The idea is to tackle your most important and challenging task first thing in the morning, tricking your brain into operating with a heightened sense of urgency and focus.

By adopting the 11 AM technique, you’ll find that you accomplish significantly more in those early hours.

Conclusion

Learning how to work faster is about working smarter, not harder. Incorporating these strategies can not only help you reclaim valuable time but also reduce unnecessary stress, improve your focus, and ultimately enhance the quality of your work.

Moreover, it’s an ongoing journey of self-discovery and continuous improvement. As you experiment with these various methods and strategies, pay attention to what resonates with your unique work style.

Ultimately, mastering how to work faster isn’t just about ticking off items from a never-ending to-do list. It’s about regaining control of your time because, as they say, “Time is money.” So, start reclaiming your time by using these strategies.