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Add hours to your day with these PC hacks

Time is the enemy…! Because there are only so many hours in a workday, it’s vital to make the most of that time. The true goal is to get more done – in less time. If distracting websites, unorganized files, and cluttered inboxes prevent you from getting work done, here are some ideas to help you better manage your time and stay productive at work.

Monitor productivity levels

Start by tracking how much work you complete on an average day. There’s an app for that! For example, Google Chrome has an extension called RescueTime, which records your most frequently visited sites and tracks how much time you spend away from your computer. This app will provide you with a productivity rating and a detailed log of how you spend your time at work. Big Brother will watch you – and hopefully be helpful.

If you discover you’re wasting a huge portion of your day on social networking and other online productivity killers, you’re more likely to make conscious adjustments to how you manage your time. Knowledge really is power here.

Block sites that waste your time

Visiting non-work-related websites hinders productivity. A quick five-minute break to check your Facebook feed may not seem like much, but a few of those per day add up to a lot of time.

If you and your employees have trouble staying away from social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, then it’s a good idea to block access to them using URL filters. We do this often in our clients’ firewalls.

Alternatively, you can use browser extensions like StayFocusd or Strict Workflow, which allow you to set a limit on how long and how often users can visit non-work-related sites.

Get rid of clutter

You can also decrease distractions and increase your output by deleting old files, uninstalling unused programs, and organizing documents into appropriately labeled folders. Doing so makes finding files easier and improves your computer’s performance as well.

As for the clutter in your email inbox, Outlook has features that filter out unimportant messages. Simply enable Clutter on Outlook to get a clean, spam-free inbox.

Stay on track with to-do lists

To-do lists help you break down large projects into manageable, bite-sized tasks. Plus, crossing things off the list is surprisingly satisfying since it gives you a sense of accomplishment and total visibility over your progress. I use OneNote for this – very useful.

Use keyboard shortcuts

Mastering keyboard shortcuts makes it easier and faster to perform functions you’d typically do with a mouse. There are more than a hundred useful shortcuts, but here are the most common shortcuts you should keep in mind:

  • Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + X – copy, paste, and cut selected items
  • Ctrl + Z – undo an action
  • Alt + Tab – switch between open apps
  • Alt + F4 – close the active app
  • Windows Key + L – logout your current session

Also enable Windows Hello and use facial recognition to log in. This one is a good timesaver and also looks cool to prospects and colleagues alike.

For more of these, take a look at this updated list of advanced shortcuts for Windows.

Beringer Technology Group, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and CRM for Distribution also provides expert Managed IT ServicesBackup and Disaster RecoveryCloud Based Computing, Email Security Implementation and TrainingUnified Communication Solutions, and Cybersecurity Risk Assessment.