How to Make the Most of Your Workday
Maximizing your workday is an art that requires strategic planning and mindful execution. Discover the secrets to productivity, efficiency, and satisfaction in your professional life. Let's delve into the world of effective time management and work-life balance.
When Distraction Takes Over
The more we work on focusing on one task at a time and ignoring distractions, the more we exercise the prefrontal cortex – the more evolved part of our brains. Then it becomes easier to focus.
- This helps us focus on the task at hand and not the external stimuli.
More on your body and productivity
People who are good multitaskers get more done
- Multitasking is an illusion
- Switching frequently between tasks will actually slow you down
- It’s important to have zero emails in your inbox by the end of the day
- The secret to improving productivity is to find the right system and stick with it
- Take breaks throughout the workday
- Every person and every workday is different
Pay Attention to Posture
Good posture allows you to breathe more fully, prevent chronic pain and think more clearly
- Be aware of any excess tension you are holding in your body and try to stretch it out
- The Alexander Technique is a component of the Alexander Technique, a way to learn about how to rid your body of harmful tension
Management
To combat procrastination, find an accountability partner
- This can be a colleague or a manager
- The person you choose will have to take their/her role seriously, expressing disappointment if you have not achieved your goal and appreciation for it
- Make to-do lists to keep yourself accountable
- Be realistic about what you can accomplish
What Your Desk Says About You
Physical workspace can either energize or deplete your productivity
- Only 25% of messiness is related to organizational skills, the rest is tied to time management
- Out-of-control piles of paper may be a sign that you need to delegate
- One of the easiest ways to start to change your work space is to spend the last 10 minutes of your workday readying your desk for the next day
How to regain control of your time
Three overarching ideas apply to all productivity tips: trust the small increments, be accountable, and forgive yourself
- You can’t expect to change years of working habits overnight. Small changes in how you work can gradually add up to big changes in productivity
A BIOLOGICAL IMPOSSIBILITY
We all have a limited amount of cognitive bandwidth – the number of thoughts and memories we can hold in our minds at any given time
- Your brain may delude itself into thinking that it has more capacity than it really does, but it’s really working extra hard to handle multiple thoughts at once when you are switching back and forth between tasks
How to Monotask
Remove temptation
- Actively resist the urge to check unrelated social media while you are working on a task
- Work on just one screen
- Put away your cellphone and turn off your second monitor
- Move
- A brief walk around your office can lift your mood, reduce hunger and help you refocus
- Set a timer for five or 10 minutes and commit to focusing on your assignment for that amount of time
Take control of your inbox
Set aside dedicated times every day to process email
- Divide email into groups
- Try the “two-minute rule”
- If you can dispense with an email in two minutes, do it now
- Make it a point to follow through
- Turn off email notifications
Get Help
Spend a week or two identifying the email issues that consistently frustrate you or slow you down.
- Find an “email guru” in your company and see if that person would be willing to sit down with you for a half-hour to explain the various capabilities of your email system.
For Computer Users (Everyone)
Not understanding the capabilities of your computer can be a serious hindrance to your productivity
- Seek out the people who can fill in your knowledge gaps
- Managers can assist in this process by offering regular information sessions and company-specific manuals related to technology
To-Do List Downsides
Humans are also vulnerable to so-called “structured procrastination,” where in order to avoid working on a hard task, they spend time on a much easier one.
- Give yourself five minutes or less to write a to-do list each morning. Keep it focused and short, so you’re not spending more time checking off items than actually completing them.
How to Make Desk Work More Productive
A timed combination of sitting, standing, and walking can help you work at your best
- Sitting for long periods of time is bad for you, but it’s also bad for your ability to be productive
- Standing up and moving around improves blood flow to the brain, which enhances cognition
- Sleep is one of the most effective ways to take a long break, so try not to give it short shrift
Try a nap
Your body naturally wants to go to sleep about seven hours after waking, and this is amplified by the effects of digestion.
- When we feel overwhelmed at work, our fight-or-flight response tends to come into play, leading us to take quick, shallow breaths. This sends less oxygen to the brain, causing us to become even more stressed and to think less clearly.
- Breathing more efficiently helps you maximize blood flow to your brain – and your mental capacity.
More errors and less creativity
When you multitask, you make more mistakes and try to do more things at once
- Truly innovative thinking arises when we allow our brains to follow a logical path of associated thoughts and ideas
- The more we strengthen our mental connections by focusing on one task to the exclusion of all others, the better we can perform
- People are much more efficient if they monotask