For almost every employee, it’s important to stay productive at work. But, sometimes, this struggle is particularly difficult for call center employees.
Employers can try different things to keep employees productive. For example, rewards and recognition are always good to celebrate employees for their accomplishments. And this can provide a powerful incentive to stay productive.
The most powerful incentives, though, come from within. In other words, better productivity starts with your own motivations and your own actions. With that in mind, keep reading to discover the best ways for call center employees to stay productive at work!
1. Make a To-Do List (and Stick To It)
If you want to boost workplace productivity, you don’t have to overthink things. In fact, one of the easiest steps you can take is to create a “to-do” list for yourself each day. And, of course, you need to focus on completing each challenge.
Creating a to-do list forces you to break your day into a series of tasks and challenges. This alone encourages you to spend your time more wisely. And making the list will encourage your brain to start thinking of solutions to challenges, even if it’s on a subconscious level.
This to-do list can be physical or digital. The most important thing is that you use it to make each day at the call center more productive. And like a to-do list, it’s also important for you to create a career timeline of what you’d like to accomplish in the next five years.
2. Take on the Biggest Challenges First
Famous author Mark Twain never worked in a call center. He did, however, come up with some advice that is perfect for all call center workers: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
What did Twain mean by this? Simple: if you have a big and annoying challenge in front of you, it’s best to knock it out as early as possible. And if you have more than one big and annoying challenge, you need to handle the biggest one first.
Once you have a to-do list ready, try to figure out what the biggest challenge will be each day. Knock it out right away to enjoy a day of serious productivity!
3. One Challenge at a Time
The best and worst part of working at a call center is that you stay so busy. On one hand, this keeps you from getting bored. On the other hand, this can easily overwhelm you, and overwhelmed employees can’t be very productive.
To avoid getting overwhelmed and stay productive, we recommend that you ditch the idea of multitasking altogether. Instead, focus on one challenge at a time. When you start thinking of the job as making it through one phone call and one task at a time instead of having to do everything at once, you will be more productive.
4. Turn Off Those Notifications
In a call center environment, you may think your biggest distraction comes from the phone on your desk. However, the main obstacle to your productivity is probably the phone inside your pocket.
It seems impossible to go through a day without getting countless notifications. These notifications may be text messages from friends, notifications that you received likes and comments on social media, and so on.
Unfortunately, most of us have trained ourselves to check these notifications as soon as we get them. But if you’re playing around on your smartphone all day, it will seriously cut into your productivity on your work phone. To stay productive, just turn those notifications off while you’re at work. Your boss will thank you!
5. Avoid Social Media
Earlier, we touched on the importance of turning off your notifications while you’re at work. But if you really want to maximize your productivity, it’s good to stay off social media entirely as you work.
The reason for this is straightforward: social media is designed to take up as much time as possible. It’s always tempting to scroll interesting posts, share funny videos, and check to see if anyone has commented on your latest content.
None of this means social media is bad to enjoy on your own time. But while you’re at work, you should avoid it entirely. You may be surprised at just how much more you will get done!
6. Take Breaks When You Can
One “rookie mistake” many employees make concerning productivity is that they avoid breaks. Their logic is simple: if they simply skip break time, they can get that much more accomplished.
However, skipping your break opportunities is one of the best ways to ensure that you get burnt out. And if you start experiencing major burnout, then your productivity is sure to take a dip.
Long story short? Taking a break every few hours or so is a great way to recharge your battery and make the most of your time on the clock.
7. Communicate to Minimize Disruptions
One of the simpler steps to staying productive is to avoid disruptions. This is why we emphasized completing one task at a time as well as removing potential distractions like notifications and social media.
However, there are some disruptions you can’t really avoid. These include times when coworkers need your help or when your boss calls you into an unexpected meeting.
When this happens, you need to politely (but firmly) let others know if you are on a tight deadline or otherwise taking on a difficult task. They should be supportive and understanding, and this will allow you to get back to what you were doing that much sooner.
8. Take Care of Yourself At Home
Most of our work productivity tips involve things you should do (and things you shouldn’t do) at the workplace. However, some of the best things to do for yourself to boost productivity take place well before you clock in for the day.
We’re talking about taking care of yourself at home. You need to get a good night’s sleep (eight hours), eat a relatively healthy diet, and minimize drinking if you want to stay awake, alert, and productive throughout the day.
Additionally, regular exercise when you are outside of the workplace can help you have more energy when you start your work day. As an added bonus, regular exercise can also help you sleep better each night!
Balance Productivity and Your Own Needs Today
These tips will help you stay productive at work. But there is nothing quite like having an employer who understands your needs and wants to work with you towards important goals.
Here at Seguros Confie, we see employees as people first and workers second. To see how we can help find the job you’ve been dreaming of, all you need to do is apply today!