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How to improve your efficiency while working and not working overtime

Being efficient does not mean -directly- being ‘multitasking’, doing thousands of things at once or working too much. When you are efficient in your work it is because you give adequate start and end to your work or activities in the shortest possible time.

How to improve your efficiency while working and not working overtime

According to Performia, who has experience evaluating staff on a large scale, six out of 10 people have a major inefficiency problem, which is basically not finishing what you’ve already started.

Do you know the word ‘procrastinating’? It is precisely to postpone the things to be done. Not finishing doing something will occupy your mind and you will not be able to focus on other matters to be concluded later, as they will accumulate more and more.

Therefore, Performia shared. comfour keys to improve your work efficiency; You can also have more space to do other things, fulfill personal errands, spend family time and really rest.

Start by setting goals

Try to have clear and defined your objectives, so you will avoid changing them constantly and you will obtain better results. To do this, organize your ideas, set a real and achievable goal and draw up an action plan.

For example, you can define by hours or times of the day the tasks to be fulfilled. Prioritize the most ‘difficult’. Use reminders or alarms to define deadlines and not forget deliveries.

On the other hand, “if you work in a company, it is essential that you know what is the purpose, functions and results expected of your position. Once this information is clear, it is easier for your actions to be directed in the right direction.”

Try to do one activity at a time

Many functions will require your full attention. If you start many tasks at once, you may not really finish doing them, you can simply be busier and your time distribution will be limited.

Do only one activity at a time and move on to the next when you’re done. This is a very valuable guideline for you to concentrate better and work a little faster.

Use lists to be clear about your activities and ‘free’ your attention

Organizing yourself with a list of pending activities is an excellent way for you to conclude and deliver them in the agreed times. A list will also help you not to depend on your memory and forget things.

If you consider this option, you can do it in the traditional way: with notebook and pencil or ‘sticky notes’; You can also use digital agendas or calendars on your mobile, computer or email.

Writing everything down is key!

Performia concludes with a very important piece of advice: handle all information in writing.

“Oral data is forgotten, confused and misrepresented, even if that is not the intention of the person doing it. Although this point seems quite simple, a good handling of information, which does not allow accidental or malicious changes in it, can save you a lot of difficulties.”

La ñapa: listen to music that doesn’t distract you

We know that listening to trendy music or your favorite can be a way to cope with your workday, as well as encourage you to perform your tasks. However, some songs can distract you, especially those that are catchy or ‘force’ you yes or yes to follow the lyrics.

For this reason, it is advisable to listen to instrumental music, either from video games or movies, yes, without voice and in a playlist.

If you decide to listen to music or radio from your cell phone, avoid constantly looking at it or answering messages that do not require urgency and can be attended later. The same happens with social networks, as long as they are not necessary for your work, leave them aside while you perform important tasks.

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Tips & Tricks

Can you refuse to do overtime?

If you as a worker committed to your employer to comply with certain overtime, it is best to comply and avoid problems. However, there are cases in which you may refuse to work more than agreed in the contract. Overtime is common among workers of different companies in Colombia, some reach that agreement from the signing of the contract and others negotiate them – if it is the case – with their employers. However, what we will answer is whether you can refuse to do extra hours at work.

Can you refuse to do overtime

Leonardo Mejía, an expert in labor matters of the firm Mejía López Studio de Abogados, tells that “the worker when he celebrates or signs an employment contract with the employer is subject and available to him during the ordinary day that is the one agreed by the parties or, failing that, the maximum legal day that is 48 hours a week distributed from Monday to Friday or from Monday to Saturdays.”

Thus, says Mejía, any work that the employee performs outside the ordinary or maximum legal working day is considered as extraordinary work, and this is valid only if the employer authorizes it and, in addition, if the worker is willing or not.

“Because availability is only within the ordinary working day or within the maximum legal working day. This means that in principle if the worker cannot provide his services in an overtime, that is, in overtime, he is not obliged and the employer can not demand that he do so and, much less, he can be reprimanded or sanctioned for not doing so, “explains the expert.

Mejía adds that hecan only be sanctioned or reprimanded if the employer authorizes overtime and the worker agrees to provide the service during that time, because it means that the employer already has that employee and, if he fails to comply or leaves earlier, he is causing damage because the provision of the service is affected. Faced with this situation, there is room for a sanction, a call for discharges and to take the necessary measures.

It should be clarified that the employer must always keep a record of overtime and must set shifts so that there is no confusion. Extra work is paid in cash and is in addition to the ordinary salary.

For her part, Verónica Rodríguez Calderón, a psychologist with experience in recruitment areas at Los Libertadores University, explains that, in general, a worker can refuse to work overtime. It suggests that it should be agreed. In addition, it ensures that overtime is not replaced by compensatory, must be canceled and is a benefit base.

In the same way, Mary Stella Cárdenas Herrera, consultant in Human Management, agrees with the previous testimonies and assures that “yes, a person can refuse to do overtime, it is his right to do so and he must be protected. They are called extras precisely because they are outside their statutory working times and cannot be forced to work more than is regulated.”

Cardenas scores: ‘regardless of the type of contract, the worker can refuse to work overtime. If he refuses, the boss would have to find another employee willing to cover those hours. If the person is fired, threatened or intimidated for refusing to work overtime, the first thing to do is to complain – in a good way – to his employer or the Human Resources area and, if he does not find a solution, he can go to the Ministry of Labor or the labor office closest to his city.