Office Design

4 Productivity Tips All Facilities Managers Should Know

David Spence
March 5th, 2015

Being Productive, Staying Productive

1. Take Breaks

Taking breaks may seem counterintuitive to being productive throughout the day. But short breaks can actually be a powerful way to reset your engines when you feel yourself getting tired or burned out. Take a short walk outside if you’ve been working at your computer for a long time, or do some other activity that will get you up and moving. On the other hand, if you have been running around all day, try to take a minute just to sit at your desk and rest. Giving yourself a break can help you recharge and be better prepared for the other tasks on your plate.

2. Delegate

Delegating the smaller tasks on your to-do list to a colleague can help get things done faster. How? Imagine choosing to keep your to-do list as it is, instead of asking a coworker for help. The bigger projects end up taking up all your time and attention, while the smaller ones get left to the wayside. Meanwhile, more and more smaller projects get added to the list, until you’re running behind on many of your to-do’s. If you delegate, however, you can prevent that backlog from ever happening. Review your task list and see which things could be given to one of your team members. 

3. Use the Pomodoro Technique

Having trouble focusing? Try the Pomodoro technique. The Pomodoro technique is a style of working in which you work for a set period of time, say 25 minutes, and then take a break for a set period of time, like 5 minutes. You can adjust the working time and break time to your liking. The exact lengths of time don’t actually matter. What matters is finding a rhythm of working without interruptions for a period of time that feels comfortable to you, taking a short breather, and then repeating as necessary.

4. Take Care of Yourself Outside of Work

While you want to be at your best on the job, it can be difficult to be your best when you’re tired, hungry or sleep-deprived. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep for your age range (the National Sleep Foundation just updated their guidelines for how much sleep different age groups need), and make sure that you’re eating healthy and staying hydrated. During busy periods, it can be easy to neglect your health because you’re busy with work, but neglecting to take care of yourself can lead to stress and burnout. To stay productive, be sure to take care of yourself, and not just your inbox.

What tips do you use in your everyday life to keep yourself productive?

Image credit: freedigitalphotos.net/jiggoja

 
 

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