Women's Life Link Be Well, Be Happy, Be YOU!
If you and your staff clocked out of your business an hour or two later than normal, you could be racking up overtime labor costs. Furthermore, you are putting a lot of physical and mental stress on yourself. Too many days spent working overtime can take a toll on anyone’s health. In fact, work and business stress is a leading cause of anxiety and other stress-related illnesses. Should this happen to you or any of your employees, the health of your business would suffer. While the occasional overtime can be expected, we have some advice here to prevent the need to work late on a regular basis, here are a few ways to avoid overtime in your business.
#1: Outsource Your Most Time-Consuming Tasks
There are some tasks you should handle yourself in your business, such as anything pertaining to your customers and your core business goals. But there will be other jobs you take on during the day that will distract you from your priority duties, and these could be anything from managing your accounts to sorting out your employees’ payroll. By taking on every facet of your business alone, you will be forced to work overtime as your to-do list will be neverending. Therefore, outsource those parts of your business that get in the way, and use the services of accountancy firms, payroll management services, and any other organization that can alleviate your daily burdens.
#2: Cut out Distractions
There are all kinds of distractions that could get in the way of your productivity. You might be tempted to look at Facebook for non-work purposes. You might decide to answer non-urgent emails. And you might receive phone calls from friends and family, and consequently, spend longer than you should be chatting to them. These are just a few examples – you can probably add your own – but if you want to stop working overtime, you need to cut them out of your day. Install a website blocker on your computer to prevent access to those sites that eat up your time, answer your emails when your priority tasks have been completed, and remind your nearest and dearest that you aren’t to be disturbed when you’re working. Take further steps to eliminate the other distractions that pervade your day.
#3: Energize Your Mind and Body
Too many of us get caught up in a vicious cycle because of overtime. By working late, we might go to bed late, and we then wake up feeling tired and sluggish. Our productivity is then affected during the day, and so we end up doing overtime again because we haven’t had the energy levels needed to complete work on time. Ad infinitum! If this is you, it is important to break the cycle. Take steps to energize yourself, such as taking part in exercise and eating a healthy breakfast before you start work. Continue these habits during the day by taking time to work out a little during your break times, and eating those foods that will naturally energize your body and mind. You should then have the energy to get work done, and consequently, you will have less need to work overtime.
In Conclusion
There will be times when overtime is a necessity, but don’t make it a habit. For the betterment of yourself and your business, consider our suggestions, especially if you are already suffering the effects of too many late nights in the office.
