Top 10 Ways to Stay Productive

When at work, home, or just out in the world, life throws many challenges at us, and we need tight focus and heavy concentration to tackle them. Completing your objective(s) is hard enough, and distractions and hindrances are everywhere; it can be tough to stay on track, and avoid temptations that will make the project unfinished. However, some tasks can be made simpler just by changing a handful of aspects.

10

Cool Temperatures

How often do you wipe a distracting bead of sweat off your brow while you are trying to concentrate at work? According to Chris Adams with About Homes, many studies were conducted to see how we operate in the fluctuation in different climates. Well, if the office or workspace is kept between 66F to “77F, workers showed an optimal efficiency of 98% in productivity.

However, while effectiveness goes up in a cooler environment, it begins to drop in hotter temperatures. Just at 59F or 87F, we drop to a 90%. “100%” proficiency is found at “71.5F,” and “we only go down in productivity as temperature increases or decreases” from that point.

9

Music

We tend to lose concentration quite easily these days with technology and the need to stay updated and in contact with others’. With that being said, there is an easy, quick solution to get back into action. Dr. Sood, from the Mayo Clinic, he states that “it takes 15 minutes to a half-hour of listening time to regain concentration. Music with lyrics works best.”

With music playing in some restriction at so few workplaces due to regulation or circumstances, it may be difficult to do this to help your concentration. For instance, if you listen to your music while having headphones on, some may think it is rude or being evasive, despite that not being the case.

The beats and lyrics in unison activate parts of the brain that boost creativity, thought process, and releases endorphins that improves focus, happiness, and reduces fatigue and stress. Therefore, music not only improves your focus, it also help you be in a better mood, work harder and longer, and think more creatively.

8

Exercise

When we think of exercise, it is at the gym on our day off, or at the end of day before bed. However, some exercise before work to start their day off right. Not only is it great for you physical health, but also it improves you mental functions as well. Discussed in an article on Forbes, Jennifer Cohen, CEO of No Gym Required and fitness spokesperson for world-class brands including Muscle Milk, Polar Heart Rate Monitors and Weight Watchers, mentions “increased energy, sharpened focus, enhances mood, helps impulse control, improves memory, and increases productivity,” just six factors on how exercise improves brain processes. “Did you know that just 30 minutes of exercise a day can make you a genius?” says Jennifer.

On Active, Karen Asp exclaims “People who exercised during their workday were 23 percent more productive on those days than they were when they didn’t exercise, says a recent study from the International Journal of Workplace Health Management. And the majority of the study participants (72 percent) did aerobic workouts.”

7

Many Mini Tasks, and Swap Them

Scheduling a big, important task in an organized fashion can be quiet difficult, and off-putting, thus causing you not to finish the job. In a different way, if you break up one or two goals into several tinier, obtainable ones, you feel more accomplished and wanting to do more. Ilya Pozin—founder of Pluto TV, Coplex, and Open Me—said in an article on Inc that “Break down the work into smaller and smaller chunks until you have specific tasks that can be accomplished in a few hours or less.” Overall, avoid seeing it as the big picture, just look at it in smaller bits, so it does not seem overpowering your stress levels.

6

Rewards

Rewarding good behavior works so well with our psyche, it stays with us for quite some time. Aside from corrective behavior, it also builds motivation, help with better moods, understand a goal, and strive to recreate the rewarding processes over again. Jay Belsky, the director of the Institute for Children, Family, and Social Issues and Professor of Psychology for Birbeck University of London, said in an article for Psychology Today that proper rewarding of good behavior carries on into adulthood. Therefore, you can reward either yourself or others for accomplishments done correctly.

5

Eat Well

According to HealthLine, a “poor diet habits can lead to increased fatigue, decreased mental effectiveness, increased irritability, higher levels of stress and depression, and decreased energy levels, ability to think clearly and perform you job effectively, and productivity.” That is a lot to consider with the thought of skipping breakfast, even aside from being productive for anything. So, it is an easy decision in making the right choice with our food, right?

“Unhealthy lunch options also tend to be cheaper and faster than healthy alternatives, making them all the more alluring in the middle of a busy workday. They feel efficient. Which is where our lunchtime decisions lead us astray. We save 10 minutes now and pay for it with weaker performance the rest of the day,” stated by Ron Friendman in an article on the Harvard Business Review. If we eat right, our bodies pay us back with body and mind power to help us through the rest of the day at work, home, or just out and about in town.

4

Breaks

If you gut it through the day without any breaks to rest, your energy will deplete, thus dragging you down towards then end of the day. “Studies report that taking regular breaks during the work day can improve productivity and mental acuity, reduce fatigue, relieve joint or muscle pain, and increase overall alertness,” reported by Healthdecide. There is a more than legal reasons why the workplace require to you to take breaks. Because, who would want tired, overworked employees that spent their energy before lunch break?

3

Social Time

Why does the IT person block some social websites at work? Well, contrary to popular belief, social media and interaction increases productivity, especially at the workplace. An article on Forbes written by Ilya Pozin states, reported Microsoft from a survey, which “46 percent of workers say their productivity has improved thanks to social media and social media tools. A further 37 percent wish their organization’s management would embrace social media tools in the workplace in order to increase productivity.” Think about it, if only work is on your mind, then after a period of time your mind will become bored, uninterested, and trail off. Just check Facebook or Instagram when you can on your phone, if you have to.

2

Keep Time Frames

Staying organized with timeframes, not the ugly word “schedules,” keeps one on track with a project or errands. With sets times, one can minimize unnecessary wasted time that could be optimized for other things. It is also important to gauge and adjust the amount of time each objective requires for proper completion. So, before each task, calculate time needed to finish, with additional time just in case something happens, and keep tabs on the process of time in the midst of it all.

1

Make Goals

If we know what needs to be done, and written down, it is easier on us to get things done. Christina Hamlett, Demand Media, has many steps in his How to Improve Productivity in an Organization. The first step is to “List your organization’s short-term and long-term goals and a reasonable timeframe for meeting those objectives. Select a qualitative and quantitative methodology for measuring progress. Invite input from personnel involved with these activities.” In other words, identify your goals, prioritize, and stay consistent, and then your objectives’ requirements will be met.

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