1. Breakfast
Breakfast is often called ‘the most important meal of the day’, and for good reason. As the name suggests, breakfast breaks the overnight fasting period. It replenishes your supply of glucose to boost your energy levels and alertness, while also providing other essential nutrients required for good health.
Start your day off right with a healthy breakfast – and by healthy I mean have something in your belly that’s going to do you some good! (No, no chocolates or donuts..) Oats, porridge, wholemeal toast, eggs, yoghurts, fruits are all good options to consider. Try to choose a food with slow-release energy to keep you going until lunchtime. If you have an unhealthy breakfast or not one at all; you open yourself up to the risk of being tired, restless and unfocused – all things you want to avoid feeling at work.
There’s also a reason why people tend to grab a cup of coffee first thing in the morning with their breakfast meal or to enjoy at their desk.
Coffee may help some people maintain alertness and energy levels thanks to its caffeine content. When coffee is consumed, it is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to the brain where it ‘fires up’ certain neurons which may improve memory, mood, energy and cognitive function, if consumed in moderation. Other reports suggest drinking coffee before exercise may reduce rates of exertion and potentially improve athletic performance.
2. Get Outdoors
Prescribe yourself a good dose of daylight & fresh air, away from the unnatural light in the office. Trust me – sunlight is good for the soul. If your office environment is stale and dim and has air conditioning – getting outside can evoke all sorts of benefits to your health.
You may have noticed after spending time outside, you come back indoors feeling brighter and perhaps ready to get back to work. More oxygen results in greater brain functioning, improving your concentration skills and providing you with more energy.
In addition, venturing outside will also help you produce vitamin D from the sun (when it does come out), which is essential for many bodily functions including supporting our immune system, strengthening our bones, teeth and much more.
3. Your one & Only
Devote yourself to one task at a time. Multi-tasking might seem more productive, but in fact, it has been proven to be a myth. Tackle one thing at once otherwise nothing will get done at all. It is entirely pointless as you simply won’t focus properly and the work is what will suffer with small little errors.
Make sure to keep a simple to do list or schedule everyday and give yourself a realistic set of tasks to go through with a reasonable timeframe to complete them.
When doing several things at once, your mind is divided between them so it’s only natural that your mistakes will multiply. And according to the Stanford research, multitaskers are terrible at filtering out irrelevant information. That means that there is sure to be some mental cross-firing and overlap between tasks.
4. Tidy desk, Tidy mind
Make a daily ritual to tidy your desk or workspace before you finish for the day. Declutter & get organised and you will start each day with a clean slate. If your desk is messy; you will certainly struggle to stay productive. Under the desk pedestals, drawers and cupboards can keep your desk in order and make your space less chaotic.
If this one is resonating with you; it may be an idea to give us a call and let us help you achieving the best storage solution for you!
5. A good nights rest
Get some decent shut eye every night. Experts recommend around seven to nine ours of sleep every night. If you’re always having late nights you will regret it the next day as you won’t feel rested and ready to handle what’s coming your way for the day.
Having conducted a survey with over 2000 Brits, Eve Sleep discovered that 79% of us struggle to switch off at bedtime and 60% of us wake up in the night with thoughts of work and other worries. The most common knock-on effects include tiredness, being less productive, being snappy and feeling over-emotional.
Cant sleep? Keep a notebook by your bedside and write down any thoughts, feelings and concerns whirling around your head before bed. Once out of your head and onto paper; you may find you’ll be able to settle. Failing that, it may be worth investigating why not. If you’re working late into the night, it could very well be you’re not giving your brain time to wind down and relax. Also, take a look at your sleeping circumstances. It might be time to replace your pillows or switch up your bedding setup.
6. Exercise daily
To keep stress levels at bay; get out and exercise each and every working day. Just half an hour of walking on your lunch during the working day will help clear your mind and help you regain focus and energy.
I know there is an age old saying of we are all chained to the desk; meaning we are super busy and don’t have time to leave it even to grab food sometimes… well good news! You are not chained to your desk; make time to leave it. You wont get more done the longer you sit there, in fact taking that 30 minute break to stretch your legs, talk with someone or get something to eat will actually mean you will get more done when you come back to it.
To stay healthy, the UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines, on GOV.UK, state that adults should try to be active every day and aim to do at least 150 minutes of physical activity over a week, through a variety of activities.
Linking with our previous tips so far, if you are someone who has trouble sleeping or staying asleep, then working out is your answer. Exercise helps to clear your head and helps you feel relaxed. Exercising increases the number of endorphins that are released into your body and increases productivity, it increases the production of cells that are responsible for learning and memory and helps create new brain cells. This enhances brainpower and brain activity.
7. Give yourself deadlines
When facing each task on your To Do List; try and give yourself a deadline. That way you will be less likely to get distracted or start something else during the task in hand.
The key benefit of deadlines is that they prompt people to take action in a timely manner through various mechanisms, such as making goals feel more concrete and creating a sense of urgency, and they can also have other benefits, such as helping people plan in advance.
8. Schedule email checking
As said a lot previously, having a To-Do List is really ideal for managing your tasks throughout the day. Consider putting your email checking on that list too. Emails are a productivity killer. It’s all too easy to keep checking for new messages every five minutes and when you do this, it can literally change the course of your day. You could end up spending all day writing emails and the task you had originally started has been left by the wayside.
Force yourself to check your emails at certain times throughout the day so that you have an allocated time spent for checking and replying ect.
According to recent data, worldwide, the number of emails sent and received per day in 2021 was 319.6 billion
9. Limit Social Media Use
All platforms have the same temptations and can be very distracting when it comes to doing anything; even when you’re at home let alone work. Like emails, you should check your profiles at certain times during the day and limit how long you’re using them. Make sure you’re not leaving an app open in the background, your phone is on silent and you’re focused on the task ahead otherwise it will disrupt your workflow.
10. Split up your tasks
If you have a large project; please don’t feel overwhelmed. Simply break it down into smaller and more manageable chunks and then tackle them one at a time. Keep a list (yes, again, a list!), and then when you tick them off one by one you will start to feel like you’re getting somewhere, you’ve achieved something, and you’re one step closer to completing the initial task at hand.
Feeling like you’re getting nowhere fast can happen when we feel daunted by our workload. Don’t be too hard on yourself! Just take it one step at a time and you will soon be at the end before you know it!
The benefits of using a daily to-do list range from higher productivity to better mental health. It might also have a major impact on your personal life, as you can be more productive at work and enjoy your personal time without stress. Regularly creating a list can help you track your short-term goals, ideas, and, accomplishments, while having an overall positive effect on your career.
11. Keep calm & Carry on
If you hit a snag – Keep calm and carry on! With a list of tasks to get through, you will undoubtedly come across something you can’t finish. If you’re stuck, simply put it to one side, take a break, and come back to it. Stopping to get a coffee, have a snack, take a short walk, will all help you see things differently when you come back to your desk.
Taking breaks has been shown to be important in recovering from stress, which can, in turn, improve your performance. Recovering from work stress can restore energy and mental resources and decrease the development of fatigue, sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease.
https://thewellbeingthesis.org.uk/
12. Cut out background noise
Set your environment right if you want to concentrate. Remove noises that will distract you from work and utilise the things that bump up your productivity and concentration. If you work in an office or even from home and you find it too noisy; try some ambient background noise in headphones to cancel it out. Some people prefer music or podcasts but utilise whatever works for you to best aid your concentration. Everyone is different but if the distraction is removed then mission complete!
In terms of the office itself; you could always speak to management about installing some acoustic tiles or panels that work to absorb sound. We have some brilliant acoustic solutions – check them out here .
Taking breaks has been shown to be important in recovering from stress, which can, in turn, improve your performance. Recovering from work stress can restore energy and mental resources and decrease the development of fatigue, sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease.
https://thewellbeingthesis.org.uk/
Hopefully these tips have helped you figure out how to stay productive at work throughout this festive period and in general!
Thank you for reading, and Merry Christmas!
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Bevlan Office Interiors LTD
York Mill, Livesey Street
Rishton, Blackburn
BB1 4DX, Lancashire
