We’d all like to achieve more at work, but sometimes it can feel like an uphill struggle. Especially when the afternoon energy slumps or there is the constant background noise of the working office.
Fortunately, there are some easy and very budget-friendly ways of helping you and your colleagues to get the best from your working day.
Here are my top 6 tips for achieving higher productivity in the workplace.
1. Set up quiet areas
Open-plan offices are great for interactive working, but not always suitable if you need to work on a project, write an important business plan or make an important phone call.
This is why I think having the option of a quiet work area is very important for productivity and achieving your work targets.
A quiet area can be set up in a smaller office or end of a corridor with a window. You can also purchase an office privacy booth, which is like a compact office for one person with insulated wall panels designed for quiet work. The privacy booth is free-standing and can be placed anywhere indoors. I think that this is an excellent way of adding a quiet office space without having to do any building work to your existing offices.
2. Arrange healthy snacks
Whilst we usually crave chocolates, cakes and coffee when we are stressed, they are not going to make us more productive at work. If we eat a lot of sugary snacks, our blood levels go up and then, unfortunately, go down again.
By arranging healthy snacks, such as fruits, yoghurts, seed mixes and alternative drinks such as green or herbal teas, you are going to help your colleagues to stay focused and full of energy even in the afternoon.
3. Allow flexible working
Not everyone is a morning owl! I know that very well because I work better in the afternoon or evening and no matter how much I’ve tried over the years, I always seem to find it hard to get up early ready for the day ahead.
By allowing flexible working, you will be encouraging your colleagues to maximise their natural energy levels and work either early morning or later in the afternoon.
4. Encourage short breaks
It’s widely recommended that we should stretch our body and muscles every hour if we work on a computer or have another ‘sit down’ type of job.
There are different ways of ensuring workers get some exercise while in the workplace. Try encouraging people to take a short break (5 minutes is usually sufficient) every hour by placing the refreshment areas further down the corridor (so that people need to walk longer to get their cup of tea) or asking them to take their letters or documents they need delivering to a central office, rather than arranging to collect it.
5. Organise lunchtime exercise (walks, mini yoga sessions etc)
A short walk in the park, mini yoga or pilates session or even meditation workshops can do wonders for re-aligning your energy and help you to stay focused in the afternoon.
You can also suggest that instead of meeting for supervision or work review indoors, you take a walk in the local park and write up any notes afterwards. You will get some fresh air and your colleagues might open up more as you will be discussing work away from the confined office space.
6. Make your meetings more efficient
When I was working as a Managing Director in the social care sector, unnecessary meetings were the biggest drains on time, energy and productivity. I would always question if the meeting was necessary or if a short group phone call would suffice to resolve whatever the aim of the meeting was.
These days, you can also use technology very effectively and meetings held via zoom call are easy to arrange and set up. They also avoid lengthy travelling to a venue and taking precious time from your work day.
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