If you increase the efficiency of using time, you will be able to cope with work, do sports, study a foreign language or communicate with loved ones much faster. Modern science has developed many methods and programs that allow you to work productively day after day without stress and burnout.
Correct use of time
Time management allows you to optimally allocate time, having time to complete a maximum of useful tasks. Among the methods recognized as the most effective:
- the Eisenhower matrix;
- the Pareto principle;
- Franklin’s pyramid;
- intelligence maps (Mind map);
- the ABC method.
The basis of these methods is the analysis of the importance and urgency of tasks, the construction of cases in a certain order. In addition, it is mandatory to control the time spent on inefficient actions – from watching a feed in social networks to yawning at various meetings.
None of these methods guarantees that you will be able to process all the necessary tasks in one day. This is normal, because each person has his own maximum speed of work. Everything that cannot be done in time is recommended to be delegated, for example, to be outsourced.
Motivation without stress
You can increase your productivity by changing your attitude to the task. In the end, numerous recommendations of psychologists regarding the formation of motivation and the fight against procrastination boil down to this.
To increase productivity when performing a task, you need to:
- set a clear goal, necessarily in a positive way;
- determine the way to achieve it;
- break this path into small steps. If it is still scary to take on the implementation – take even fewer steps until each of them ceases to be perceived as something difficult;
- write down all the steps with exact terms;
- continue to perceive only the nearest step as a goal, without trying to think about how long the path will be as a whole;
- try to strictly adhere to plans.
Of course, there will be many tasks every day. You will have to learn to determine the importance and urgency of each of them, quickly assess how much they affect the speed of achieving the main goal.
Assistants who are always there
To make it easier to structure your time and evaluate the effectiveness of its use, experts from all over the world have created thousands of useful tools – from a mechanical timer based on the Pomodoro method to computer software. Here are some convenient and free options:
- TMetric Time Tracker. An application suitable for both singles and small teams.
- ManicTime. A program for the PC that tracks the user’s actions and takes into account the time. Then you can view the report and find out exactly how much was spent on social networks, messengers and other “time wasters”.
- Toggl. A time tracker that helps organize work at the level of a small enterprise.
- Asana. Within the framework of the program, you can plan the team’s work, divide tasks according to priorities, and configure the dashboard.
Such mini helpers are very important. A person calmly concentrates on the work process, and the program prompts at the right moments that it is time to take a break or that a deadline is approaching.
A place where you want to work
It has been proven that the correct organization of the workplace can increase productivity by about 30%. And this is only a direct result. There are also indirect aspects – improvement in well-being and health reduces medical expenses and the number of hospital stays.
A workplace equipped in accordance with the rules of ergonomics:
- provides enough space for workers for documents, necessary components, convenient accommodation of visitors, employee movements;
- guarantees correct lighting. If it changes during the day, you need the ability to darken or lighten a certain area, expand the monitor;
- does not distract or irritate due to the correct color scheme;
- provides the possibility of working in silence, with the optimal regime of temperature and humidity.
Life is in motion
Previously, it was believed that simple chairs and a table were enough for an employee in the office. But studies have shown that sitting work has a negative effect on the condition of the spine, muscles and joints.
As a result of long-term experiments, scientists came to the conclusion that the optimal option is a periodic change of posture, which is provided by a table for standing and sitting work.
Among the advantages of this approach:
- acceleration of metabolism. And without additional efforts on the part of the employee. Calorie consumption increases approximately 1.5 times;
- improvement of blood circulation, especially in the legs and pelvic organs;
- a constant small load on the muscles, which allows them to remain in tone. This maintains correct posture, prevents curvature of the spine, and has a beneficial effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems.
Ergonomic furniture is the secret of high productivity
So that a person can devote all his attention to the project, it is enough to provide it with the right furniture. A table with variable height and “memory” for several optimal positions of the tabletop is the key to efficient work. Like an ergonomic chair, it is enough to set it up once, and you will no longer be distracted from the work process.
Tables with an ergonomic cut are especially convenient
In this case, when working, the elbows are correctly located on the table at an angle of 90 degrees, and the body maintains the most natural position without straining additional muscles. All this allows you to work for hours with papers or a PC with maximum efficiency, without feeling discomfort.
An athletic body is an efficient brain
At the beginning of the century, it was experimentally proven that in elderly people, only 35 minutes of training with a load of about 65% of the maximum heart rate significantly improved the flexibility of thinking. Later, the results were confirmed for people of other age categories.
To maintain a healthy lifestyle, working in a dynamic position alone is not enough. It is necessary to ensure physical activity every day – approximately 30-60 minutes a day. But if it is not possible to carve out such a period, doctors recommend doing sports for at least 10 minutes.
Which sport to choose?
It has been proven that different types of activity not only strengthen and improve health, but also give each their own bonuses:
- Basketball, volleyball, football and other team games improve teamwork skills, expand the field of attention, help to learn long-term concentration, because in the game its loss can cause a loss.
- Walking accelerates the memorization of information, stimulates creativity and imagination.
- Aerobics helps you to concentrate better at work if you need to ignore constant distractions.
- С mud training improves cognitive functions, reduces anxiety levels, fights the effects of stress and slows down brain aging.
- Running allows you to fight depression more effectively, facilitates those activities in which you need to constantly recreate memories.
Of course, when choosing, it is necessary to take into account personal preferences and physical capabilities of the body.
Proper rest will help you do more
A person must rest periodically. This protects her from emotional burnout and stress. Do not forget about work breaks and ergonomic furniture, interesting books and useful communication. Only a comprehensive approach, which provides time for both work and rest, will help to ensure high efficiency for many years.
Let’s be healthy and efficient!
