As the summer heats are upon us in the Northern Hemisphere, the allure of relaxation and leisure can be overpowering. It can be challenging at times to remain focused on your professional objectives. However, it’s crucial to strike a balance between indulging in the season’s delights, having a healthy dose of summer fun, and staying productive.
Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, your productivity levels will ebb and flow throughout the day. Some people are alert and ready as soon as the day starts while others do their best work in the evening. However, there’s a window of time that is almost universally unproductive—the late afternoon slump.
Most of us can agree that teamwork is more than just a buzzword, it is a cornerstone of success in business. Harness teamwork and this team-oriented approach will ensure that everybody is working in sync, driving innovation, and improving overall performance. Still, we might not realize just how beneficial it is for problem-solving, communication, decision-making, innovation, organizational efficiency, and overall performance.
It has been demonstrated that attention spans are shrinking. People are constantly inundated with short videos, bite-size content, and endless stimuli that prevent them from really focusing on one thing at a time. Even corporate training materials have moved toward digestible content. Though not necessarily a bad thing, it highlights the necessity for companies to accommodate workers who are easily distracted. Similarly, as you tailor your marketing messages for your target audience, you must also modify your communication methods to suit their attention span.
Efficient workflow leads to a successful performance and higher bottom line. It doesn’t matter your industry, organization, or team culture. And yet, research shows that only 60 percent (or less) of the average employee’s time is productive. Not to mention, employees face about 56 interruptions each day, which can take them as long as two hours to recover from. There is a lot of inconsistency that could drive to less-than-desired results.
This season is hectic and there’s often no way around it. That mad rush to complete all of your end-of-year tasks while keeping up with holiday parties, office events, and family plans can feel nearly impossible. There’s a house to decorate, gifts to shop for, meals to plan out, and guests to entertain. And that’s on top of your normal workload. How do you balance it all, while holding onto sanity in the process? Let’s follow the magic of the checklist.
In a culture that glorifies busyness and hustle, it’s not uncommon to avoid declining a request, at all costs. A strategic, intentional no, however, can actually be one of the most effective tools to boost your well-being and performance at work. For this month’s edition of The Productivity Box series, we are making the case to normalize saying no.
After an undeniably exhausting couple of years, we all could use a little pick-me-up. One way to get that boost is to celebrate small wins, no matter how tiny or insignificant they might seem.
Everybody knows how important an active lifestyle is for the wellness, strength, and resilience of our bodies. What about the impact of exercise on our brains, though? Can physical movement enhance mental health and cognitive performance? What’s a good alternative if you don’t particularly like going to the gym? In this month’s installment of The Productivity Box, we’ll make the case for dancing.
If the stress of these last couple of years has thrown your sleeping habits out of whack, you’re not alone. Research published in The Lancet Neurology Journal found that sleep disturbance and insomnia rates have increased all over the world since the start of this global pandemic.
