The grind is real. The data-driven, digital world gave us tech to cope with almost anything. But we didn’t expect that it’s going to be twice as tiring.
The new holy grail of working people can be summed up in two words: work-life balance. Focusing, for the moment, on the work side of the equation, there’s a simple way to increase your productivity, and here’s how to do it.
Workplace conditions
The work environment is an important aspect of success. So, don’t be too surprised that most notable productivity killers in this section are clutter, pollution, and office design.
There’s a torrent of new articles posted every day that show how productivity is connected with clutter. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you should strive for the level of tidiness of a “Marie Kondo” episode. It’s more about having a clear understanding of what’s distracting you in your office. Picking an office with less light and noise pollution helps a lot. But, a true game-changer is how you design your office. Please don’t overstuff your office with toys and gadgets. Nobody really wants to work in an adapted man-cave. Instead, go for something stylish like rugs and try to find a Miss Amara rug that goes well with other furniture in your office. It’s going to flip your mind about office design.
Organize
After you redesign your office, it’s time to redesign your work activities. You want to set your priorities, choose main tasks, and delegate.
Whether you make cookies for boy scouts or develop blockchain apps for hospitals, setting priorities is absolutely necessary. A lot of workers can’t do this, and it’s causing them unbelievable amounts of stress. The next thing you want to do is to settle all important calls and meetings in the early morning hours. Awareness and focus lower during the day, so handling such tasks should be done as soon as you come to work. After that, all that’s left is to delegate tasks you don’t really need to do. Now, it’s easier to concentrate on important tasks.
Act not react
Don’t let things happen to you, stay prepared and focused instead. An easy way to do this is to stop multitasking and preplan your activities.
Ever heard of a to-do list? No, they aren’t the remnants of seventh grade, they are actual productivity helpers. Calling any priority or a task completed without completing its all related activities is a great recipe for failure. A to-do list helps you because it gives you a clear template on what you should do first. Then, it all comes down to whether or not you can abstain from multitasking. Without a “one-track mind”, you’ll endlessly do multiple tasks at once, never truly excelling at any of them. The key word here is focus, and that’s exactly what you should try to achieve.
Work Balance
Working is super important, but taking regular breaks is even more so. Being productive isn’t about becoming a machine. It’s about delivering work output that bleeds quality.
It doesn’t matter if you can hack up 12 hours of work per day, if you don’t bring quality. And, to deliver quality, people need to take a break here and there. So, taking a break that replenishes you is super important. Ongoing trends suggest that more offices need gyms. Apparently, regular exercising during work hours helps workers to be more productive. Also, don’t forget to look at your phone and social media every 90 minutes. It’s a reward on its own to know what’s happening with your virtual life.
Rest
Sounds unusual? Well, not really.
Rest is an integral part of a productive work routine. What you really need is more sleep, better diet, and regular breaks from work. People are too tired. Bad sleeping habits coupled with an unhealthy diet lead to all sorts of health issues. But most of all, people need to break away. Turn off the computer and snooze your phone this weekend. Take a trip you truly need and enjoy yourself. First, you deserve it. Second, it’s going to make you more productive.
