How to Increase Office Productivity

Whether you work from home or work in a bustling office environment, you want to try and be as productive as possible. We’ve all been the victim of procrastination before: one minute you’re just checking social media and the next minute it has been hours. Fortunately, there are things you can do to say goodbye to procrastination and hello to productivity and a hard day’s work. Throughout this article, we will take a look at 10 ways that you can set your office up. 

Temperature Matters

As you more than likely know, the average room temperature is 68-71.6°F. So, if you’re sat around the office shivering or dripping with sweat then your brain isn’t going to be giving you optimal concentration levels. You could consider a Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner (PTAC) – this handy machine will get your chills or sweats under control in no time. What’s even better is that you can install a refurbished PTAC from PTAC Inc. to make spare rooms more comfortable. Looking after your environment will look after productivity.

Color Counts

Given that people tend to spend at least 33% of their time per week at work, it’s no surprise that the color of the workspace will have an impact on productivity. Although everybody is different, there are generalizations made about which colors promote what behaviors. For example, it has been noted that blue has the biggest impact on people’s mood. 

If you work from home, then you can decorate your space using whatever colors make you feel the most productive. On the other hand, if you work at the office, then your choices are a little more limited, but that doesn’t stop you from taking items into the office to keep you engaged.

The Game of Thrones

Unfortunately, we’re not talking about the notorious novel series. Instead, we’re looking at the importance of making sure your office throne is fit for a king or queen. We’ve all been there, sat at your office chair feeling your back aching and fidgeting to get comfy. If that sounds a little bit too familiar then the chances are that your chair isn’t quite adjusted right – you can fix this with some simple guidance. 

If you’re lucky enough to work from home, then bite the bullet and invest in a good-quality chair. Failing that, you could always use some pillows to alter the height of your chair. Alternatively, if you work at the office, then have a chat with the higher-ups about adjusting your workspace.

Shhh!

When there’s too much going on it can be difficult to hear yourself think. On the flip side, being in deep silence can be rather unnerving. The noise level of your office is going to be an important factor in increasing or decreasing your productivity. As mentioned, everybody is different: some people will enjoy music to work and some people will enjoy total silence.

At the office, you could take some noise-canceling headphones along to drown everyone out. You could also take in some headphones and put on some music. On the other hand, if you work from home and want to feel closer to humanity for concentration, you can download a program designed to imitate the sounds of coffee shops and other similar places.

Let Nature In

Given that our ancestors were once at one with nature, it’s no surprise that the natural world can have a huge impact on us. From natural light to plants and fresh air, nature is great for our psychological wellbeing and therefore can increase our productivity.

Whether you work in the office or from home, try opening the window to let the air in, keep the curtains/blinds open, go for a walk on your break, and get yourself a desk plant to look after – it’s hard to fight the logic of so much research.

Fuel for the Fire

Just like a car needs fuel to make it run, so do humans. So, stop your stomach from giving you the rumbles by having food during the day. This is a lot easier if you work from home, but try not to let the kitchen become a distraction, and set yourself allotted times for kitchen runs. If you work in the office, prepare yourself some ready-made snacks and lunch so you are raring to go. Of course, you need to drink during the day as well, so make sure you guzzle up on coffee/tea, water, or juice – most businesses provide at least that.

How to Look Good for the Summer… 

Hang on, that’s not right… That’s the point, it’s so easy to be focusing on one task and then start thinking about something else or having an idea that is so unrelated, and the next thing you know you’re several pages deep in online research. It’s fantastic that you’re having ideas, but not so much when you need to be concentrating. To combat this powerful procrastination inducer, try keeping a notepad to hand so that you can write any unrelated thoughts down; you can come back to them any time you like then.

Change of Scenery

Working in the same four walls all day can be a little bit daunting. If you can, try and change up the scenery once in a while. Having new things to look at automatically shifts your brain and allows you to stay productive for longer.

If you work in an office and don’t need to be tied down to a phone, check-in with your manager to see if you can go and work from a different room – as long as you’re smashing your targets, it should be fine. If you work from home then the world is your oyster, so head down to the local coffee shop or park for a change of scenery.

Mom Knows Best

When you were younger and your mom would shout up to get your room tidy, you likely thought there was no point because it would just get messy again. Well, we hate to break this to you, but she was right. A messy workspace doesn’t help nurture productivity.

You have it easy if you work in the office because your workplace will most likely have cleaners; all you have to do is keep your desk tidy. However, if you work at home then the entire house is a potential hazard, so put aside some time each week to make sure everything is spotless – your managers will thank you for it.

Light it Up

Although we’ve already mentioned letting the natural light in, sometimes it’s not there. So, it’s important to make sure that you have the correct lighting. Poor lighting can lead to a range of issues like fatigue, headaches, and in extreme cases, depression. 

If you work at home, then this one is an easy fix because you can open the curtains when you want and you can get however many lamps and lights you need. However, if you work in the office, you might not always have control over the blinds, but there’s nothing to stop you from taking in a lamp to keep your mind focused.

That brings us to the end of our exploration of how to increase productivity, and for the most part, we stayed on track. Whether you work at home or trek to the office every day, there are lots of things you can do to take control of your productivity and stop being a pesky procrastinator.