Have you ever been frustrated by your lack of productivity in the workplace? Increasing work productivity has the potential of helping to reduce backlogs and unnecessary stress in the office. But how exactly are you supposed to increase work productivity?
For someone who is looking to get more work done, it is imperative to focus on small habits. Unlike established and more pronounced behaviors, small habits are easier to modify. It may be seen as a conservative approach, but it could make a huge difference in the your level of workplace productivity.
1. Achieve an 8 hour sleep every night
Ever wondered why people are so obsessed with coffee? Caffeine has been a necessity in the workplace, especially for people who lacked sleep and needed to get work done. Not only is coffee a temporary fix, it is also addictive.
One simple solution that you can do is to get a sufficient amount of sleep at night. Not only does it help to increase your mental clarity, it also helps lessen your caffeine consumption. Sleep deprivation is a serious concern in the workplace. You can easily miss important details when you haven't had a sufficient amount of sleep.
Approximately 50 to 70 million US adults are believed to have problems going to sleep. According to research, adults should be able to sleep at least 7 hours a day. So why can’t people sleep? According to experts, it could be because they are thinking too much during bed time about personal and/or professional challenges in their lives.
Instead, what you can do is to control the stimulus in your room once it is already bed time. If you are experiencing anxiety about anything, it is best that you just go to another part of the house, while leaving the lights off. This helps you relax and ease your anxiety. Also, it helps to have a sleeping habit which could help relax the mind.
2. Minimize dependence on your social media during working hours
Social media networks are very addictive. It is a huge problem that not only affects your daily life, but also your daily productivity. To increase your productivity, learn to restrain yourself from accessing social media.
In a study, smartphone users check Facebook an average of 14 times a day. Given the popularity of social media, you can’t remove the probability that there are people who are checking their social media accounts at work. Not only does social media distract you at work, it also shuts down your momentum.
So how exactly do you get rid of social media in the workplace? Since it is hard to monitor social media use on smartphones, you have to take your own initiative. There are apps that could help you focus at work. A popular option is the Self-Control App. The good thing about this particular app is that you set the amount of time you are blocking distractions online.
3. Write your daily tasks on paper
It is a common practice by a lot of individuals to do different tasks simultaneously. What they don’t realize is that it can be a bit overwhelming to the brain. Instead, it is a good idea to focus on individual tasks, one by one.
Start things off by writing down tasks on paper. This is a powerful habit to develop which could change the way you perform at work. Writing your “to-do” list first thing in the morning rewires your brain on what should be accomplished. It prevents you from working on several tasks all at once, while minimizing the habit of procrastination. Also, once you start scratching off tasks on your list, you’ll get that sense of fulfillment and urge to finish the entire list.
It is a good idea to write down things that could be done for the day. And by the end of the week, this could serve as a way to easily monitor the things that you’ve done. Have you crossed everything out? Or were there any other tasks left to be done?
4. Take regular breaks
Another habit that you need to implement in the workplace is to take regular breaks. Working smart is always important if you want to increase your overall productivity. Working continuously for hours not only slows you down, it also increases the likelihood that you will commit mistakes over time.
Since some mistakes can be detrimental to your entire workflow, it is a good idea to regain your focus by taking small breaks in between, after an hour of working continuously.
Experts believe that you need to take a five minute break for every 90 minutes of intense work. This helps the brain restart and function again.
5. Always have a personal goal
It is important to always have a personal goal to stay inspired. Whether it’s a possible promotion, or a possibility of beating your best performance so far, a personal goal gives you the motivation to improve yourself and strive for success.
Over the years, a lot of people have experienced burn-out from doing the same things over and over again. When you figure out everything there is about your job, you can’t help but feel complacent about it. Having your own personal goal can help you grow, and increase your productivity.
For others, they fail to have the motivation to work because they don’t see the importance of what they really do. No matter how small or big your task is in the company, keep in mind that it’s an important position that keeps the company running.
Conclusion
We are living in a modern workplace environment that is ridden with challenges. From distractions found on technology, to employees lacking the motivation to perform, these are some of the most common problems that we are facing.
Regardless if you run your own business or work for a company, productivity is an important thing to track and improve. In fact, we are all guilty of slacking at work at least once. This is when small habits matter the most.
By implementing these small habits in your daily routine, you will be surprised by the difference that it will make to your overall level of productivity.