{"id":19729,"date":"2022-05-25T08:03:03","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T07:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/?p=19729"},"modified":"2024-10-03T20:19:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T19:19:16","slug":"8-tips-for-working-smarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/","title":{"rendered":"Regain control of your service desk with these 8 principles for working smarter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet Michael. Before switching to smart, he was tired of feeling overwhelmed, of incidents piling up, of not knowing how to meet his customers\u2019 rising expectations<\/a>. Now, he can relax \u2013 no matter what\u2019s thrown at him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But other IT departments are still feeling overstretched. And with\u00a055% of end users expecting a higher level of customer service<\/a> year on year, that\u2019s no wonder.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regain control of your IT department<\/h2>\n

To keep up with these demands, teams like Michael\u2019s need to work smarter. But when you\u2019re firefighting, finding your first step can be a challenge.<\/p>\n

Here are some working smarter principles, tips, and tricks you can use on Monday morning to regain conrol of your service desk and maximize your time:<\/p>\n

1. Create order<\/h3>\n

When you\u2019re drowning in work, keeping track of what you need to do is hard \u2013 let alone knowing where to start. So, whether you use a whiteboard or a task management app, make your work visual.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

2. Prioritize your workload<\/h3>\n

Once you have an overview of what you need to do, it\u2019s time to start prioritizing. Assess your workload, decide which tasks create most customer value, and organize your time around those. Focus on the top three crucial results of the day first.<\/p>\n

3. Don’t rely on email as your agenda<\/h3>\n

Now that you know what work to focus on, don\u2019t fall into the trap of using your email to track your progress. Write down your tasks elsewhere or keep track of them with an app to avoid getting lost in your inbox.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

4. Use a to-don’t list<\/h3>\n

Instead of working through a never-ending to-do list, try a to-don\u2019t list. Creating a list of things that you shouldn\u2019t do will help you identify non-essential tasks or ones that can easily be postponed.<\/p>\n

5. Avoid multitasking<\/h3>\n

Some people pride themselves on being able to multitask. But doing two \u2013 or more! \u2013 tasks at once just means you\u2019re more likely to make mistakes. Try focusing on one task and fully completing it before moving on to the next.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

6. Don’t aim for perfection<\/h3>\n

Perfectionism usually makes you work harder, not smarter. If you use a knowledge base, don\u2019t spend hours making all information available when your customers are only going to use 10% of it. Instead, update it whenever you notice certain questions coming in more frequently.<\/p>\n

7. Prepare for the next day<\/h3>\n

Those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail. So, use the end of the workday to prepare for the next. Clean your workspace, check your calendar, create a to-do list for the next day, or make sure your hardware is charged.<\/p>\n\"\"\n

8. Don’t be afraid to be a copycat<\/h3>\n

Working smarter is all about implementing small changes that have a big (and lasting) impact. So, find tips, shortcuts and best practices from thought leaders in your field that work for you \u2013 and disregard the ones that don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Ready to take the next step?<\/h3>\n

These tips are a good start, but it’s only a first step. For lasting results, you need to start working smarter.
\nDownload the agile service management e-book to learn everything you need to know to make your IT department more agile \u2013 from seven common pitfalls of agile transitions to making your Service Level Agreements more flexible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meet Michael. Before switching to smart, he was tired of feeling overwhelmed, of incidents piling up, of not knowing how to meet his customers\u2019 rising expectations. Now, he can relax \u2013 no matter what\u2019s thrown at him. But other IT departments are still feeling overstretched. And with\u00a055% of end users expecting a higher level of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"blog_author":"","blog_hubspot_cta_link":{"title":"Download the e-book","url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/e-books\/agile-service-management\/","target":""},"toc_display":"not-visible","blog_promotion_overwrite":false,"blog_promotion":false},"yoast_head":"\nWorking Smarter Principles: 8 Tips for Efficient Service Desks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover 8 essential principles for working smarter in IT service management. Optimize knowledge management with these expert tips to boost efficiency.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Regain control of your service desk with these 8 principles for working smarter | Better support, happy customers | TOPdesk\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover 8 essential principles for working smarter in IT service management. Optimize knowledge management with these expert tips to boost efficiency.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"T1 TOPdesk - EN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TOPdesk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-05-25T07:03:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-03T19:19:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Timon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Timon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Timon\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/995a8f0b06d438e37fd23df568798916\"},\"headline\":\"Regain control of your service desk with these 8 principles for working smarter\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-25T07:03:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-03T19:19:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/\"},\"wordCount\":561,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"ITSM\",\"Knowledge Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/\",\"name\":\"Working Smarter Principles: 8 Tips for Efficient Service Desks\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-05-25T07:03:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-03T19:19:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover 8 essential principles for working smarter in IT service management. Optimize knowledge management with these expert tips to boost efficiency.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Regain control of your service desk with these 8 principles for working smarter\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"TOPdesk\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"TOPdesk\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/TOPdesk_RGB_Logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/TOPdesk_RGB_Logo.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"TOPdesk\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TOPdesk\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/topdeskuk\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/topdesk\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/topdesk\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/TOPdesk\",\"https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/reviews\/market\/it-service-management-platforms\/vendor\/topdesk\",\"https:\/\/www.capterra.com\/p\/127562\/TOPdesk\/\",\"https:\/\/www.trustradius.com\/products\/topdesk\/reviews\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/995a8f0b06d438e37fd23df568798916\",\"name\":\"Timon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fac7dde1292f6d6d9f0a1a1cb50176a90d95f13cc97c2dc977b11e0787668c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fac7dde1292f6d6d9f0a1a1cb50176a90d95f13cc97c2dc977b11e0787668c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Timon\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Working Smarter Principles: 8 Tips for Efficient Service Desks","description":"Discover 8 essential principles for working smarter in IT service management. Optimize knowledge management with these expert tips to boost efficiency.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Regain control of your service desk with these 8 principles for working smarter | Better support, happy customers | TOPdesk","og_description":"Discover 8 essential principles for working smarter in IT service management. Optimize knowledge management with these expert tips to boost efficiency.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/","og_site_name":"T1 TOPdesk - EN","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TOPdesk\/","article_published_time":"2022-05-25T07:03:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-03T19:19:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Timon","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Timon","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/"},"author":{"name":"Timon","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/995a8f0b06d438e37fd23df568798916"},"headline":"Regain control of your service desk with these 8 principles for working smarter","datePublished":"2022-05-25T07:03:03+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-03T19:19:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/"},"wordCount":561,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png","articleSection":["ITSM","Knowledge Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/","url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/","name":"Working Smarter Principles: 8 Tips for Efficient Service Desks","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png","datePublished":"2022-05-25T07:03:03+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-03T19:19:16+00:00","description":"Discover 8 essential principles for working smarter in IT service management. Optimize knowledge management with these expert tips to boost efficiency.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/Online-image-Zen-1.png","width":1200,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/blog\/8-tips-for-working-smarter\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Regain control of your service desk with these 8 principles for working smarter"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/","name":"TOPdesk","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#organization","name":"TOPdesk","url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/TOPdesk_RGB_Logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-content\/media\/sites\/30\/TOPdesk_RGB_Logo.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"TOPdesk"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TOPdesk\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/topdeskuk\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/topdesk\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/topdesk","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/TOPdesk","https:\/\/www.gartner.com\/reviews\/market\/it-service-management-platforms\/vendor\/topdesk","https:\/\/www.capterra.com\/p\/127562\/TOPdesk\/","https:\/\/www.trustradius.com\/products\/topdesk\/reviews"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/995a8f0b06d438e37fd23df568798916","name":"Timon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fac7dde1292f6d6d9f0a1a1cb50176a90d95f13cc97c2dc977b11e0787668c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fac7dde1292f6d6d9f0a1a1cb50176a90d95f13cc97c2dc977b11e0787668c8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Timon"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19729"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34266,"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19729\/revisions\/34266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.topdesk.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}