7 Smart Ways Workaholics Can Optimize Time [Infographic]

One of the most popular buzzwords this year is “optimization,” and this article is about how to optimize time. The typical workday has changed a lot here in the States over the past few decades. Although I don’t remember ever working a 9 – 5 workday, only a few short generations ago, this was the standard. These days, if an employee rolls into the office at 9:00, takes an hour for lunch, and leaves promptly at 5:00, he or she is looked at as somewhat of a slacker. That is, unless you work in a really progressive office where you have flex-time options and a boss who takes a more laid back approach, but that’s rare.

These days employees and entrepreneurs work long hours. Many times they eat lunch at their desks, they work evenings and weekends, and they even skip vacations sometimes. According to this infographic by Wrike called 7 Time-Saving Tricks For The Over-Worked, 43% of employees in the States don’t use all their vacation time. No wonder we are all too busy to keep up with our lives, many of us are over-worked workaholics who could use some real tips for how to optimize time so we can reclaim our lives (and our weekends).

I know I could really learn how to optimize time better, and there are a few things in this infographic that really make sense to me. I agree that it’s important to complete one thing at a time. I’ve written and researched a lot about multitasking, and although in the short term it might seem like a good idea, in the long term, it’s ineffective. You can read more about that on Multitsking: Good Or Bad [Infographic].

When I think about how to optimize time, one of the first things I think about is my to-do list. My entire workday revolves around my massive to-do list, and it feels rewarding to cross things off as I finish them. It’s a huge sense of accomplishment. I was surprised to learn that a whopping 30% of workers don’t use a to-do list. If you would like to learn more about the sources used for this infographic and get a summary of each point, you can click over to the source article for additional information. Time is our most valuable resource, so it makes sense we’d want to optimize it in order to make the most of each day!