As many of you know, I am constantly
searching for the productivity holy grail! I feel that I manage my time pretty
well, going through decent spurts of great productivity but then (longer)
periods of downtime. I do, however, always feel like I could/should be doing more somehow. But, from new
articles and research that I’ve come across, it seems that a number of our
natural human instincts are actually spot on and should be encouraged.
In the April issue of Inc. Magazine,
there’s a whole section devoted to research on and techniques for increasing
productivity, or I should say from what I gathered, making better and healthier
use of your time, even if you’re not getting more actually done (quality versus
quantity). Recently, I feel that I’ve really begun to appreciate how
important it is to let the brain rest. I feel so inundated every day with
information, much of it useless, but still I have to figure out how to dodge
and weave away from the cr*p and to capture the truly useful and important
information. Once it’s captured, then it needs to be organized and then
acted upon or filed away for future reference. Rather than tout yet
another system for accomplishing these tasks, the articles in Inc. try to give
some scientific insights into how the brain reacts to these processes and what
will help it react better. The cover story “Get More Done” makes some
unusual suggestions, but hear them out. I found the following 3 points
quite thought provoking:
1. Think Fluffy – recent research findings suggest that viewing
cute images heightens mental concentration and carefulness. Test subjects
who viewed pictures of baby animals experienced enhancements in their fine
motor skills and performed better on dexterity and visual search tests.
So, feel free to go on over to my Facebook page and get your fill of cute lamb and baby animal pictures!
2. Turn Up the Heat – literally. Studies show that office
workers are more productive when the thermostat is turned up to 77
degrees. Typing errors dropped by 44 percent while typing output rose by
150 percent.
3. Let It Rain – bad weather is good for productivity.
Not surprisingly, when beautiful sunny skies aren’t calling, people get more
work done. A Harvard Business School study found that turning desks away
from windows can boost productivity as well as letting employees work shorter
hours on good weather days as long as they make up the time during bad weather
or other times.
There’s also an article that
recommends against multi-tasking, stating that not only is the brain not
equipped for it, but that it might actually do harm. The article
recommends 3 approaches:
1. Dedicate 20 minutes to one task, then switch to another task
rather than trying to do both (or more) at the same time.
2. Cut down on email and check it only a few scheduled times
per day (and turn off notifications the rest of the time).
3. Answer quick questions in person or by phone to further cut
down on the amount of email.
Other articles explain the
importance of physical exercise as well as sleep and “disconnection” for the
brain. Mmmm, maybe I need to go back to that new crochet project I just started and get off the computer!
