Unexpected ways to boost your productivity
The plethora of available tips for boosting your productivity can make for confusing reading. Whether you need an extra boost to start that business venture, book flights somewhere abroad or write that novel you’ve mapped out, increasing your productivity can work wonders for you in both your personal and professional life.
Check the thermostat
Whether at home or in an office, maintaining the correct ambient temperature is a key factor in ensuring you are able to work at an optimum level.
Studies show that productivity in the workplace falls if the temperature is too high or too low. The ideal temperature has been found to be around 71.6 degrees Fahrenheit, according to research conducted by the Helsinki University of Technology. Similar studies have concluded that workers who feel cold tend to make more mistakes. Increasing the temperature of an office from 68 degrees to 77 degrees Fahrenheit produced a 44 percent reduction in typing errors and boosted output by 150 percent.
If you’re too warm or too cold, then you’ll struggle to concentrate, regardless of the task and its difficulty. You could be trying to cook an amazing meal you know the recipe of inside out, but if you’re uncomfortable, then you’re bound to make mistakes or give up altogether.
Lose weight
Studies have shown that brain function declines in those carrying excess weight. If you want to keep your thinking as sharp as possible, try to shift any extra pounds you are carrying. Many people find it’s far easier to achieve their weight loss goals if they enroll into some formal program rather than attempting to go it alone. The Nutrisystem diet revolves around portion control and involves eating pre-prepared food that is mailed out to you. Weight Watchers allows you to eat whatever you like, but uses a point system to control how much of each food you can eat. In essence, the higher the calorie count, the less you are allowed to have. Whether you prefer the Nutrisystem or Weight Watchers approach comes down to personal preference, but your best chance of success will be with a system you feel most comfortable with.
Take a vacation
Added pressures mean a significant number of the Americans who receive paid time off fail to take it. Although it may seem counterintuitive, taking more time off can actually make you more productive. The Working Time Directive of the European Union guarantees a minimum of 20 days of paid vacation each year, and many require up to 25 days. No such minimum exists in the United States – the only country in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development that does not mandate paid time off. However, regarding output per person, nine of top ten the most productive countries in the OECD were in Europe. The United States came in at sixth place.
Research suggests it’s not actually the rest itself that boosts productivity – employees who know they are due to have time off are likely to be better organized in the run-up to their vacation and make better use of their work time to ensure they can enjoy their time away in an exotic land.
