How To Increase Productivity at Work
What would you say if I told you that to increase productivity at work you should take a vacation?
Terrific, I guess that’s the end of this post.
But just in case you need some more convincing let me make the case for increased productivity, according to the experts. Don’t just take my word for it.
A 2010 study by Grawitch and Barber published in Consulting Psychology Journal relates that taking time off, like a vacation, will reduce employee stress. It’s not the first and probably won’t be the last study to come to the same conclusion.
The importance of the study and what made it different from those before it was in recognizing that when we leave it all behind, our brain gets the chance to renew. And when I say leave it all behind, I mean don’t take ANY work with you on vacay.
It’s important to let your mind completely disengage from work related issues. It seems that being able to disengage entirely lets us rediscover the attributes we brought to the job in the first place. The daily anxiety and stress that builds up goes away and we renew our mental assets which includes creativity and that will increase productivity.
This creativity quotient is REALLY important. It doesn’t matter what your job entails, when you bring more creativity to that job, your problem solving abilities increase as do your innovation and insight, all important traits that boost productivity.
Increase Productivity Through Increased Creativity
Additional studies are finding that time spent on the Internet everyday are another way we actually disengage and renew as well. While most employers are worried about decreased employee productivity from surfing the net, studies are proving that we actually waste more energy forcing ourselves not to take the break. In fact The National University of Singapore discovered that employees that spent less than 20% of their time surfing the net were 9% more productive than employees that didn’t. That’s pretty astounding and interesting in terms of the 80-20 rule.
Seems counter-intuitive but its true. Giving your brain the chance to have fun time boosts productivity when you do buckle down to work. The trick is to not get sucked in to the Internet and waste time or use it to procrastinate. By using a timer to help you time the length of a break and the frequency of breaks, you can increase productivity and enjoy your work.
So go on vacation and leave all your work behind. Try new things, read for pleasure and let your brain play. When you get back to the office you should notice increased productivity compared to before the vacation. The more you increase productivity the better your flow and the more success you should achieve at work.
Take my advice and don’t feel guilty about being away and disconnecting, and don’t skip the vacation time. Take a vacation and increase productivity.