5 Ways to Win the War on Productivity

Provide value for your company by becoming a leader in productivity. We all are striving to do our best at work but sometimes we hit the roadblock of productivity. Our biggest challenge we have come to find is time. You might find yourself asking, how is it that even though everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, I am the one that gets hit by a slump in the afternoon? We try and try to fix our problem with caffeine and upbeat tunes, but always seem to fall short of a solution. Luckily, Think Tech is here to advise you on 5 ways to win the battle of productiveness.

1. Create a Personalized Routine

Rather than getting up and doing the old humdrum activities, put together a unique agenda tailored to you. Once you create and start your new routine, you will find the most effective ways to progress you along on your journey to increased productivity. Not only will you find more effective techniques to capitalize on, your most productive times of the day will be highlighted. Here are a few examples of what you can add to your routine:

• Set a specific time to wake up each and every day
• Start every morning with a run, meditation or a workout you enjoy
• Eat a simple (healthy) breakfast with a breakfast book every day
• Plan out your week every Sunday night
• Use Google Calendar to help stay organized and set goals

Steve Jobs supplied his own personal inspirational approach to his routine at Stanford in 2005. He gave a commencement address in which he revealed a simple question he asked himself each morning.

“If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” –Steve Jobs

2. Always Try to Take Breaks

Want to stay focused? An appropriate break will most likely ALWAYS increase productivity. Make yourself happier at work with 10-minute breaks after working 2 hours or so. Maybe 4 breaks a day are all you need to stay on track. Breaks are important because they allow you to reconsider your work objectives and priorities. Maybe what you were working on before your break ISN’T as critical as that other job you have to get done before the end of the day. Here are a few ideas for you to do on your break:

• Walk around outside to increase blood flow
• Eat a snack that will boost your concentration (nuts, chocolate or seeds)
• Coffee-thirty. Grab yourself a cup of coffee
• Plan a day trip or your next vacation
• Your eyes need a break, get away from the computer

3. Escape the Time-Wasters

One of the biggest time wasters is social media. Thankfully, there are a few options to help you curb your time-wasting appetite. Leechblock and Nanny are just two helpers that allow you to set blocks of time when you can’t open your distracting social media pages or other sites. Here are a few other ways to limit distractions while working:

• Turn off emails on your phone
• Ask yourself “Is what I’m doing right now helping me achieve my goals”
• Turn off the internet if you’re trying to create content or ideas
• Turn off your cell phone for certain blocks of time to get more done
• If you use Outlook, create rules in to organize your email inbox

4. Organize Your Work space

Do you ever feel the added stress when your house is disorganized or just plain messy? This stress can also occur at work and can actually become a productivity killer within your work space. You’ll be surprised at how much easier it is for you to concentrate and focus on big priorities with a clean area to work in. Here are a few examples of how you can organize your work space:

• Get electronically organized (folders are your friend)
• Shake up your desk layout, refresh your decorations to make it new
• Delete all that is unnecessary, on your desktop, desk, and drawers
• Keep a to-do list rather than have your different projects everywhere.

5. Switch Your Location Up

In order to keep your brain attentive, you should see how changing your location has an impact on your productivity. Your focus and mood will be refreshed with a new perspective, and you might even generate new thoughts and ideas with the change-up of scenery. Productivity can be capitalized when you shake up your work day and don’t hit that midday slump. Here are some ideas for switching up your location:

• A coffee shop would be a great place to improve alertness
• Some days are just begging for you to work outside and refresh your outlook
• The more relaxed break-room might be your perfect getaway
• Co-working space or a Library can provide a quiet environment when you need to focus and avoid interruptions
• Head to the conference room if you are looking for some peace and quiet and need to stay on site

They say change doesn’t happen overnight, but here at Think Tech, we believe in your fight to becoming more productive. Put forth some effort and follow these few tips for guidance to success. We wish you well on your journey productiveness!

Contact us today to help your business become more productive with managed IT!