In this series, business journalist Timothy Goh offers practical answers to candid questions on navigating workplace challenges and getting ahead in your career. Get more tips by signing up to
The Straits Times’ Headstart newsletter.
A: To ensure that your work drives real impact, start by identifying and understanding the role’s key goals and your organisation’s priorities.
High-impact tasks help advance these objectives, while low-impact activities can consume valuable time without producing meaningful results, said Mr Ivan Foo, consulting and solutions lead at mental health platform Intellect.
“We often spend our extra time and resources on low-impact tasks rather than high-impact work due to a multitude of subconscious reasons: fear of failure, the task feeling too large or complex, or a lack of clarity,” said Mr Foo.
“Recognising these patterns reframes the question: It’s often not about whether you are spending too much time on low-impact tasks, but rather, why you are not starting with the more important ones.”
Mr Foo suggested a practical approach: set aside time for regular reflection, such as a weekly review of how time is allocated and what outcomes have been achieved.
“This can reveal where attention may be misdirected and highlight opportunities to clarify, streamline or reprioritise tasks,” he said.
Mr Foo See Yang, managing director and strategic business group head of HR solutions company Persol Singapore, said that many professionals are highly productive but not always effective, as they may spend too much time on low-impact tasks instead of work that truly moves the needle.
Administrative work, reactive requests, and “quick wins” can create the illusion of progress while crowding out higher-impact work that requires deeper thinking or longer lead times.
“In our conversations with employers and candidates, we often see performance acceleration when individuals learn to differentiate between tasks that keep work moving and tasks that move the business forward,” said Mr Foo See Yang.
“This doesn’t mean ignoring smaller tasks, but regularly stepping back to ask: Which activities actually influence outcomes my manager and stakeholders care about? Small shifts in prioritisation can often unlock disproportionate gains in impact,” he added.
Sometimes, staff may feel they are falling short of their managers’ expectations, leading to a sense of slow progress in their roles.
Intellect’s Mr Foo said that high-quality performance begins with clarity. When priorities or standards are unclear, the most practical first step is to seek clarification.
Managers generally value autonomy and ownership, particularly when an employee’s work directly advances the team’s objectives.
Staff can, for example, clarify which tasks need close alignment with their manager’s direction and which ones require greater autonomy and ownership on their part.
“Explicit discussions like these reduce ambiguity, which often leads to increased stress and anxiety in the workplace,” said Mr Foo.
“Pay attention to patterns in feedback and the priorities your manager consistently reinforces – these often reveal concrete expectations more reliably than assumptions that could cause a lot of unnecessary detours.”
Mr Foo said that regular check-ins, clear communication about goals and a willingness to seek feedback will ultimately help employees ensure that their work aligns with what matters most, supporting more meaningful progress in their role.