People experience various stressors throughout a given workday that can be detrimental to work productivity. Work stress but also stress outside of the workplace can decrease individual productivity. For an employer, this can be an adverse effect to the work environment as well as result in a loss in revenue. There are simple ways for workers to limit the effect that job monotony or stressors have on themselves.
5 WAYS TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY THROUGHOUT YOUR WORKDAY
1. Bust a Move. If you work at a desk, simply get up from your chair and step away every so often and move around the office. Not only does this give you a mini recharge cognitively but it also has been seen to assist in healthy living.
2. Gimme a Break. Plan out your breaks for the day. Even if it is only 5 minutes every hour, schedule time to do short, appropriate, non-project activities at work. Taking few minutes reading another website that is not too distracting from the task at hand may bring you back refreshed with a new set of eyes. Employers will not freak out if they see the work that is being done is of higher quality and completed faster
3. Whistle While You Work. Try listening to music/radio while working. If you are good at multi-tasking this should not affect the quality of your work nor meeting a completion deadline. If you happen to find it distracting to have voices in your head while you work, then look at other avenues (i.e. look at pictures at your desk)
4. Out to Lunch. Making a habit of having your lunch at your desk can be not only detrimental to your productivity but also your dietary health. Get out of the office environment and enjoy some fresh air at lunch to really recharge the batteries for the rest of the day.
5. Let’s Get Physical. Employers are regularly embracing healthy living for their workforce given the benefits of positive employee health. Spending your lunch hour at a nearby gym or going for a run around town are great ways positively exert any work/life frustrations and finish the workday strong. Not everyone needs a full hour to finish a meal so eat at your desk and utilize that hour in a more positive way.
Not all of these activities may seem appealing to you but do think about what appropriate techniques you can implement to break up your work day. Burnout and work frustrations can ultimately lead to low productivity and employee turnover.
Just remember that a simple five-minute break can go a long way – so use it. If you have a question about what is appropriate or do I need approval, ask your employer. If you are honest about why you are looking at implementing these, odds are the employer will see the benefit.
