Slacking, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, means to work more slowly and with less effort than usual. In a professional setting, it could mean decreasing the intensity, quantity and speed of your work. You can avoid slacking at work by managing distractions, being self-disciplined, and using a task manager like a timetable.
In this article, you’ll find out why you’ve been slacking and how to overcome it. You’ll especially find this useful if you work remotely as a Nigerian.
Table of Contents
5 Probable Reasons Why You Slack at Work
Many people slack at work for various reasons.
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Boredom
This could happen if you as an employee don’t have enough work. It could also mean you don’t get enough challenges at work.
It causes reduced motivation to work and can lead to slacking at work. Staying motivated at work is a good way to avoid slacking at work.
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Distractions
As an employee, a lot of things can cause distractions. It could be family stress, social media, or health challenges.
These distractions could be a reason for slacking at work. You can easily handle some distractions while others are not so easy to overcome. However, if you can’t overcome them, you can significantly manage them.
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Lack of understanding of the tasks at hand
Sometimes, new tasks may come into your department and you’re lost on the right way to proceed.
This could overwhelm you as an employee and result in slacking at work.
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Enormous workload
Sometimes, the workload is so big that it stresses you out. Stress leads to fatigue, which leads to slacking at work.
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Working remotely
An effect of the pandemic was allowing people to work remotely from their homes. In a country like Nigeria where power supply is not constant, it is easier to slack off at work because the necessary facilities you need for work are absent.
Read also: How to stay motivated as a remote worker or freelancer in Nigeria
3 General Tips to Avoid Slacking at Work
These tips will help you either as an entrepreneur or an employee to avoid slacking at work.
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Breakdown your workload
Before you start your day either as an entrepreneur or employee, it is important to break down your workload. This helps to avoid overburdening yourself with unnecessary things at work.
A breakdown of your day could be in a to-do list or arrangement of tasks on a scale of preference. It will help with any enormous workload. Organising your day with a breakdown of your workload will help overcome slacking at work.
This exercise helps to prioritise tasks and know what to do per time.
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Eliminate or manage distractions
Earlier, I mentioned that distractions could be a result of family, health or extra-curricular activities. In some instances like family and health challenges, you can manage your distractions.
You can eliminate or reduce extra-curricular activities and social media activities to the barest minimum. You can time yourself, abstain from such activities while at work, or take even stricter measures. This will help curtail slacking at work.
Read also: How to avoid distractions at work
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Always update your knowledge
This will help curb boredom and help to understand tasks with a broader scope. As a worker, you should keep abreast of new development, alternative solutions, and complementary solutions. Reading and gaining knowledge is a good solution to boredom and also reduces the chances of being unable to understand the task at hand.
Most importantly, it helps to avoid slacking at work. It keeps you excited and refreshed for a new day at work.
These tips apply to both those who work on-site and those who work remotely.
How to Avoid Slacking at Work as a Nigerian Working Remotely
Some tips are peculiar to remote workers in Nigeria that can help them avoid slacking at work. They are as follows:
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Understand your workplace
Some organisations believe that working remotely gives them access to the entirety of your time regardless of the stipulated work hours. A few sticks to stipulated work hours and others are very flexible.
Understanding this helps you to plan your sleep schedule, and how to respond to emails and daily tasks. Having such an understanding will help remote workers to avoid slacking at work.
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Discipline yourself
There is a temptation to lose focus while working remotely. This is because there is no check-in time or HR breathing down your neck. It’s up to you and how much you can achieve with little or no supervision.
The temptation to watch TV, run errands and do other things apart from work is ever-present. For example, if you live with your parents; there is a high probability that you are sent on errands because you work from home and others go to work. You are the cook, cleaner and errand person. You can curb this by setting boundaries on what chores you are open to doing and ultimately avoid slacking at work.
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Have a daily timetable
This will help you plan your time appropriately. You can allot time slots for work-related issues, personal issues and any other activity you may wish to partake in.
Properly planning your time is a major way to avoid slacking at work.
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Find a co-working space around you
This may not be an option available to all Nigerian remote workers. Factors such as limited co-working spaces and the cost of the co-working space could be hindrances.
However, it could be an effective way to avoid and overcome slacking at work. Some of the challenges of a Nigerian remote worker include epileptic power supply and unstable internet connection. These challenges cause some people to slack at work and co-working spaces readily solve the issue. Co-working spaces also help motivate you to work as opposed to just being on your bed or home office.
If you can locate a co-working space close to you, use such facilities to avoid slacking at work.
In all, stay motivated to overcome slacking if you are already slacking. Or avoid slacking at work at all with these super effective tips.
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About Author
- Torera Oladeji is a Nigerian lawyer. She has a flair for writing and has decided to explore that passion. She is fun loving, enjoys her own company and hopes to be an established writer soon. She is currently a volunteer with Insight.ng
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