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It’s good to stop and relax on occasion. At the end of the day, guess what will be waiting for you tomorrow: more work.

It’s counter-intuitive, but try this on: Work less to be more productive.

I know, it’s crazy, but stick with me. Take meetings, they’re either an incredibly productive part of the day, or absolutely miserable. Granted, there are more reasons that factor into the productivity of a meeting, but one of them is time management. Seriously, productivity is linked to time management. Shorten a meeting, stick with the schedule and see how much more productive and enjoyable a meeting can be.

What’s being advocated here is actually implementing innovative changes to how we work. Everyone talks about innovation, but it always ends up being business as usual.

Here are some more ways to work smarter:

Tackle hard jobs first – knock off the most difficult item of your day first. The problem solving it requires will trigger your brain to start thinking hard and fast. Meaning the rest of the day will be a breeze.

Use Flex Time – Are you an early riser or a night owl? Adjust your schedule somewhat to fit your natural inclinations. I’m worthless before 9am, so why am I going to waste my time and my company’s money coming in early? All I’ll end up doing is sitting at my desk attempting to look busy.

Take breaks - Seriously, schedule regular breaks. Taking time away from work, allows your brain to catch up with all the information presented to it. Take coffee breaks and lunch breaks. Get up, move around, go outside for a bit. In the larger sense, use your vacation time regularly. Take three day weekends occasionally. Work from home every so often.

Email in bursts – Check your email three to four times a day period. When you get into work, after lunch, and before you leave (with an extra to use at your discretion). If something is really important, it shouldn’t have been sent in an email anyways! It’s amazing how much time is lost just checking email.

Schedule time to better yourself – I take about an hour each day to read while I’m at work. News articles, magazines, journals, books, blogs, and more. This does two things: Keeps me up to date on the world around me (including the industries I feel are important to the company I work for) and it refills my creative tanks.

Separate Work and Life – Leave work at work! Unless it’s an emergency, don’t take work home with you. You’ll sleep better, feel better, and in a strange twist of fate: Work better!

The bottom line is this: work should enhance your life, not define it.

Try one of these innovative ideas, and see how it pans out. Then try another, and another and another. The goal here is to work smarter, not harder.