6 Science-Backed Strategies to Increase Your Productivity
You’ve heard the saying, “Work smarter, not harder,” right? We all want to be more productive throughout the day. But what can you do to increase your productivity? This is what we’ll explore today.
Why is productivity important?
A nine-month experiment from CTrip, shared by Stanford Graduate School of Business, revealed that working remotely led to an increase in productivity by 13%. In addition, 9% of employees worked more, with fewer breaks and sick days.
Productivity is essential, both for employers and employees. It’s also a skill that can be improved. Here are six ways to be more productive.
1. Avoid multitasking
Multitasking kills productivity.
A study by Fuze found that employees who multitask experience a 40% drop in productivity compared to their colleagues. In addition, 50% of multitaskers take up to 50% longer to execute daily tasks, and that is a massive amount.
Ninety-two percent of employees surveyed in that same study admitted to multitasking during meetings at work. And missing important company updates or news about a project can highly impact the employee’s productivity after the meeting.
So, focus on one task at a time.
2. Take regular breaks
Taking regular breaks is not only enjoyable, but they actually make you more productive. Pausing for a coffee, taking in some fresh air, and having a quick chat with friends are some of the little things you can enjoy for a few minutes. So, why are breaks good for increasing productivity?
Airtasker surveyed 505 remote employees across the United States and found that 37% of employees think that taking breaks is the most effective way to stay productive, followed by having set working hours (33%) and keeping a to-do list (30%).
3. Communicate with colleagues effectively
Communicating effectively with your colleagues, whether people are working remotely or not, is another great way to increase productivity. The State of Remote Work 2021 by Buffer highlighted the fact that remote workers find collaboration and communication as being the second biggest difficulty when working remotely.
While you may have internal communication systems in place, having team software can increase productivity as well as employee engagement. In fact, team software can help you to stay organized with tasks, keep up with deadlines, and share opinions with colleagues.
4. Live a healthy lifestyle
Living a healthy lifestyle not only helps you be physically and mentally healthy, but also productive. Living a healthy lifestyle means eating right, getting enough sleep, and exercising consistently.
A study by Bristol University found that employees had higher levels of productivity on the days they exercised—improved time management (72%), better mental and interpersonal performance (79%), and better workload management (74%).
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- How to Improve Your Focus: 6 Tactics to Stay on Task
- 12 Productivity Secrets of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs
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- Is Doing Too Many Things at Once Bad for Business?
- 10 Office Yoga Poses to Try at Your Desk
5. Write down your tasks
One important step to maximizing productivity is having a clear view of your to-do tasks. This enables you to stay organized and maintain focus.
You can use the old school method and write down your tasks on paper, or you can use a task management app. Choose the method you feel most comfortable with.
Once you have everything written down, start with the most difficult or burdensome tasks. It’s best to start these kinds of tasks when you’re just starting your day, before you’re feeling burned out. And that way, it’ll all get easier from there!
6. Work on your social media discipline
It’s easy to lose track of time when we scroll social media feeds.
A survey by Pew Research Center found that 56% of workers who use social media platforms for work-related purposes agree that social media distracts from the work they need to do. And 77% of workers use social media at work despite their organizations prohibiting the practice.
Interestingly, 56% of these workers believe that using social media actually helps their productivity, while 22% believes that it mostly hurts.
Ideally, it’s best not use any social media in the workplace, or at least limit your time to during breaks to avoid sapping your productivity.
Increase productivity with practice
Reaching a high level of productivity takes time, but with practice and by implementing these science-backed strategies, as well as other productivity tips, you can build habits to gradually increase your productivity.
