Increasing our productivity at work insofar as we can is crucial in a world as competitive as ours. Moreover, our bosses set concrete objectives that we need to reach in a set period of time, and nobody likes to work overtime, right?
Being efficient at work and carrying out the objectives in the least time possible is ideal as much for employers as for employees. For that reason, in this article we’re going to offer you some tricks that you can incorporate in your daily schedule so that you can most take advantage of the hours that you spend at work.
Avoid distractions
Nowadays, we are all glued to our cellphones like they were parts of our bodies. Additionally, practically all of us receive messages and are accustomed to checking our social media accounts constantly, even when we’re at work. Still, we only spend a few seconds reading our texts and watching those addictive YouTube videos, right? Our smartphone is a source of continuous distraction that takes a toll on our productivity. What can you do to avoid it? You can get used to leaving your phone some place out of the reach of your hand. In that way, you can avoid the temptation to look at it all the time.
Get organized
Plan your day. Establish the tasks that you want to complete, and try to anticipate how much time you’re going to need to invest in each of them. Your calculations don’t have to be exact; just map out your time so that you basically know how much time you’ll spend on each endeavor.
To that end, you can write out a list and prioritize its items so that you can concentrate on those that require more of your time, and you can rest better assured that you’ll have time to get to everything important. Organizing your day will reduce your stress and give you a sense of control; ultimately, this organization will increase your productivity.
Additionally, you can set your own deadlines. Accelerate on your personal calendar the real deadlines that your boss imposes, and give yourself some margin in case something goes wrong. That way, if you need more time, you’ll have it.
Rest! It’s vital for productivity
Yes, even though it sounds paradoxical, it is necessary to rest regularly in in order to perform better at work. So that our breaks don’t detract from our productivity, they should be programmed pauses during which our brains can disconnect.
In that same vein, you should determine beforehand how much time you’ll spend resting. The most advisable course of action is using that time to stretch your legs, take a walk, eat something, and get a breath of fresh air.
Reading and checking your phone during your break are not recommended activities. Even though they can be tempting, they don’t allow your brain to rest. Many studies emphasize that the most productive workers are those who rest more effectively, not those who work the most hours. The popular study from Desktime affirms that the ideal rhythm is working for 52 consecutive minutes and then resting for 17.
It is probable that you won’t be allowed to rest for as long as the studies recommend, but all of the research shows that breaks are necessary and beneficial for your workplace productivity.
Wake up early
This can be easy for some people, but others find it taxing to haul themselves out of bed early. If you allow yourself enough time, you can use those extra minutes to eat a leisurely breakfast, read the news, do some stretching, and arrive at work more refreshed and energized. Changing our habits is tough, but if we gradually set our alarms just a few minutes earlier, we’ll eventually arrive at the time that is the most ideal for us.
Don’t bring work home with you
It seems easy to stop thinking about work once we get home, but really, we all sometimes think about what we have to do tomorrow, if we’ll meet our deadlines, if our meetings with our bosses will go well, etc. For some of us, it is a real challenge to completely disconnect ourselves from our obligations at work, but the constant connection only causes stress and exhaustion. For that reason, we have to try to leave work at work and occupy our minds with other activities when the workday ends.
You can join an activity that interests you or meet up with friends to chat about anything other than work. It is recommendable that you not work at home and that you turn off any notifications or alerts on your phone that are work-related. The aforementioned tips can help you to enjoy your free time more and arrive at work with a clearer mind.
We hope that this article equipped you with the tools to increase your productivity and embrace your time outside of work. Anyway, if you have any difficulty with separating work and “play” in a way that significantly interferes with your well-being, we recommend that you seek professional help to learn techniques that will allow you to maintain a healthy separation between those two facets of your life.
