Many times it happens that even after working efficiently for a whole week we feel that the work is getting piled up. But there is a chance we have not been managing work well. What if we were to tell you that you did not work as efficiently as you thought for a week? As per research, an employee is only productive for 12.5 hours a week. And, for almost a 40-hour work week, the cost of lost productivity will keep on quickly adding up for the business. In this blog, we will discuss about the 4 ways to be Proactive and Productive.

During a slow day or week, you find it boring to work on the tasks from your to-do-list which are not urgent. You try to pass the time by chitchatting with your friends and colleagues, by scrolling your social media timelines, by searching for online purchase and much more. But, this shouldn’t affect your contribution to the business, right? Below listed are ways to keep contributing to the business even on the slow days or weeks;

• Pay attention to your professional development:

A study has found that one of the reasons the employee’s professional development is held back is because they are too busy to pay attention to it. There are things like webinars related to your industry which you were not able to attend because you were busy or because you were reading articles that you have kept in your reading list.

So, now is that time when you can read those articles that were pending or watch those recorded webinars. Or, get your hands on the upcoming training sessions happening around you to enhance your skill development. Or, work on other initiatives such as doing a certified course in the area of focus. Hence, if your professional development has been put on hold because of a busy period at work, a slow day or a slow week is the perfect time to focus and march on developing your skills.

• Speak with your colleagues:

When you don’t have an endless to-do list, you can take some time to meet and speak with the colleagues you have meaning to connect with. Like, if your superior too is having a slower week, discuss your long-term career goals with them. This will help ensure that you are continuously working on projects which will help you grow in your career.

Apart from meeting with your superiors, you can also utilize that time to meet your colleagues from across the company. This can include having coffee or lunch with a co-worker you have friendly relations with. Or meeting someone from a different team if you are interested and planning to switch career paths.

• Be organized:

During busy days, you might wish you had an organized and clear workplace instead of a cluttered desk. When you run into a slow period take time to clean the mess on the desk at the workplace. One of the ways to get organized is by implementing a project management process or tool, to help your whole team stay on track with larger projects. Or on a personal level, you can rethink how you organize your email inbox or weekly to-do list. Then, once you’re busy again, you’ll be glad you’re that much more efficient.

•  Ask for other tasks:

Another way to pass a slow work day is by simply asking for more work. By doing this, you can show your manager that you are a proactive and eager employee who wants to help the business grow by asking to take work off his or her plate. By completing this work, not only you will help your manager, but you’ll also learn new skills you might not have otherwise had the opportunity to work on.

Beyond helping your manager, you can also take on projects you are passionate about, outside of your regular list of responsibilities. Or you can offer to help another team with their project and, at the same time, learn more about how other teams in your company work.

The steps mentioned above are just a few ways you can ensure that you are productive even when you have a low workload. If you put all your best effort into positively contributing to the business at all times, you will help your organization grow, and as a result, grow in your career.