Danielle
January 31, 2012 | 11:07:29
With the first month of 2012 almost at a close, everyone is reevaluating their New Year’s Resolutions. Are you still taking advantage of your new gym membership? Did you find a way to keep fried foods off of your dinner menu? Are you still volunteering at a local organization? But most importantly to those in the PR trade, have you been able to increase your productivity at work?
It may be okay to skip the gym once in a while, but let’s look at a few ways to keep productivity up at work and ongoing for this year, and the next, and the next…
Eat the right food. Food coma is like an undiagnosed sickness. It happens to everyone and at the most crucial times – right after lunch, while you still have half a day left of work. Eat the right proportions and the right food that’ll boost up your productivity, not slow it down. Good examples are avocados, dark chocolate, nuts and seeds, or even splurge and get some fish!
Hold some paper. Yes, everything is online now but that doesn’t mean everything needs to stay on the computer screen. If you’re doing research or editing a report, print it out and manually review it in front of you. It’ll be less straining on your eyes and allow you to focus more. Use a highlighter (they’re not obsolete yet!) and make notes on the side.
The silent treatment. When confronted by a demanding assignment and if its allowed at your work place, move your office space for awhile. Choose somewhere without distractions (the library, the nearby park, coffee house or even at home). The trick is to not have any communication gadgets and if you need your laptop, don’t connect it to Wi-Fi and get to work!
Peak hours. You know if you’re a morning or a night person. Take advantage of when you feel and work the best and pinpoint hours. Use these hours to get the most important projects done.
Similarities attract. Batch similar tasks throughout the day so you’re the most efficient, e.g. if you have phone calls to make or errands to run – do it all at the same time so you’re not constantly going back and forth to it.
With 11 more months of the year, what are your best tricks for staying productive at work (or in life)?