You can still be productive and have fun throughout your life, at home and at work, with the help of these insights. Backed by research, these are the perfect excuses to slack off a little in the short-term in order to benefit your long-term productivity.
1) “Work less.”
This is a simple idea that many people completely ignore. “Working too hard for too long makes you less productive.” When you are pounding away at the grindstone nonstop, your ability to think clearer and to function better slowly dissipates. When studying construction projects, one study discovered, “where a work schedule of 60 or more hours per week is continued longer than about two months, the cumulative effect of decreased productivity will cause a delay in the completion date beyond that which could have been realized with the same crew size on a 40-hour week.” Rather than working all day, every day – take some time to go to the gym, to go out to lunch and to refresh your mind and your senses. These breaks are key to the longevity of your work flow.
2) “Go home.”
When you are doing creative work, you should go home. You will get more done in a place other than your office if the work is creative. “If you’re doing creative work, research says you’ll be more productive at home than in the office,” specifically, “11% to 20% more productive outside the lab,” in regards to accomplishing creative tasks. So rather than slugging through a day at the office, convince your boss that you’ll really accomplish more if you head home to finish that graphic design project up rather than staying at the office and trying to get it done.
3) “Take a nap.”
Sometimes, usually later in the afternoon, we feel as though we have worked so hard for so long that we just can’t go on. All we want to do is close our eyes for just a moment… so why don’t we? History has shown us that we should. “Napping is common in talent hotbeds and features both anecdotal and scientific justification.” Many famous people, including, “Albert Einstein… Leonardo da Vinci, Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy and John D. Rockefeller,” used naps to recharge their minds. Not just history, but research has also recently discovered the benefits of napping to our overall levels of productivity and mental strength. “Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that napping for ninety minutes improved memory scores by 10 percent, while skipping a nap made them decline by 10 percent.” Don’t risk the decline. Head home for a mid-day nap, or if you are lucky enough to work from home, don’t fear scheduling one into your routine. Your mental strength will appreciate the boost.
4) “Go on vacation.”
Sometimes what you really need to increase your productivity is to just take a break from it all. “For up to a month after a vacation you’re more productive at work.” Results from one study “indicated that teachers’ work engagement significantly increased and teachers’ burnout significantly decreased after vacation.” Plan a mini-getaway so that you can work at maximum productivity levels when you return to the office. Even a weekend getaway could help boost your productivity level and help you find more success in the workplace, while simultaneously helping you to find more happiness in your personal life.
5) “Hang out with friends.”
“Just having friends nearby can push you toward productivity.” When it comes to spending time with the people we care about, there are few limits to the benefits. Just having people we care about around us as we work can give us the boost that can make the difference when we are seeking success and seeking to be more productive. “Distractible people get more done when there is someone else there, even if he isn’t coaching or assisting them,” explains David Nowell, Ph.D. Dr. Nowell is a clinical neuropsychologist from Worcester, Massachusetts.
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