We spend a lot of our lives working and should, therefore, strive to achieve maximum productivity in order to make that time worth it. There are a lot of factors that influence our productivity. Some organizational factors influence productivity in a direct way. But there are also more subtle elements that affect our mood and indirectly contribute to our productivity. Here are a few tips that will help you get the most out of the time that you spend at work.
Start with your desk
As we work, we tend to gather more and more stuff around us. Most people don’t realize they are hoarding stuff until it’s too late. We put things aside, thinking we might need them later and they just sit there gathering dust for months. But even though they aren’t contributing to our work, they are influencing it in many ways. Having a lot of stuff means that you have less free space to actually do the work and need to maneuver around just to get things done. It also means that you have less space for the stuff that actually matters and often times will have to invest a considerable amount of time finding something. So the first thing to do is adopt a clean-desk policy. That means putting everything away that isn’t directly contributing to the work you are doing right now. The fewer distractions you have, the faster you will get your work done.
Purge your office
When you start cleaning your desk, you will put things aside that you might need later. But what will you actually need later? A lot of people are reluctant to throw away things that they haven’t used in a long time because they think they might need it later. The reality is that a lot of us have useless junk lying around but are not brave enough to admit that. A good way of figuring out what things we actually need is to imagine that we are moving to another office. If you had to move, what stuff would you take with you? When we have to pack and drag things along with us, we become more aware of all the stuff what we own and it becomes easier to identify what we actually need and what we don’t. So, if you wouldn’t need something in your hypothetical new office, you probably don’t need it right now either. While throwing stuff might seem hard at first, it’s actually an exhilarating feeling once you get into it. And once the purge is done, you will feel much more comfortable in a cleaner and seemingly bigger office.
Setting the mood
Our productivity is, to a large degree, determined by our mood. If we don’t feel comfortable in our working environment, our results will suffer. Therefore, if you are not feeling relaxed, take a look around and try to determine what the source of your frustration is and sort that out before you start doing any actual work. One item commonly overlooked in the office is the lighting. Natural lighting is always the best solution, but if that is not possible, you need to make sure your light sources are bright and catch all the corners of the office. Australian companies have long ago adopted a policy of maintaining an efficient working environment, and you have a lot of options for a professional level 2 electrician in Sydney. Having professionals take care of lighting, air conditioning, and all other electrical systems is a good way to keep things running and maintain a productive office.
Develop a storage system
All the things that you don’t need right away should be stored in such a way that they are easy to find when you need them. The less time you waste hunting for something, the more you can spend on the actual work. A good system is to keep related items together. If you need empty folders to put things away, it makes sense to keep them near the filing cabinet. Ink and paper should be stored near the printer in case it runs out of supplies. There are dozens of examples like these, just make a list of the stuff that you use in the office and figure out which ones are more frequently used together.
Dedicating time to the reorganization of your office might seem trivial, but it pays out in the long run. Once you put these tips into use, you will start noticing an increase in productivity and satisfaction.
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