Sitting in an office in front of a computer all day can be very tiring for your eyes and your mind. All to often you find yourself clicking on your favorite sports blog, doing a little shopping and finding anything else other to do than work. I found the following blog to help you stay a little more focused at work and home.
http://www.swinglineblog.com/05/steps-enjoyable-office-life/
1. Get out when you can
A way to make office life more productive is to escape the office when you’re not working, particularly at lunch time. The benefits of doing this can be significant; a recent survey commissioned by Ryvita found some 79% of people who had lunch outside the office felt energized ready for the afternoon ahead.
This can help boost your work/life balance as the office becomes a space that’s just for work, but more importantly going out for lunch can also be a great way to get to know your colleagues better!
2. Add flexibility to your work schedule
In addition to escaping the office at break times, why not ask if it’s possible for you to work from home occasionally? Some 75% of the respondents to a recent O2 survey said they were more productive at home. A change of scenery can prove to be a real boost to your inspiration and the potentially quiet, pressure free-environment could increase productivity; just make sure your home office is fully stocked with a reliable stapler and all other office supply essentials.
You could also see if your employers are willing to be flexible with your hours. For example do you hate not being able to drop the kids off at school? Well why not ask if you can work 10 to 6 instead? It may be what you need to make work that bit more enjoyable.
3. Designate some time for email
Few things feel worse than letting things at work pile up. This is something that can easily happen with emails; especially if you’re receiving hundreds of messages every day. If you don’t think you have time to deal with them all as they come in, why not set aside some time at the start of the day and after your breaks to go through them and sort them out?
Designating a set amount of time like this may help you take better control of your inbox, so you can avoid becoming one of the 6% of people a recent survey found have simply given up on trying to organize their email.
4. Make the most out of your commute
The commute to work can be an experience people dread; conjuring up images of overcrowded commuter trains and chronic gridlock. However, why not use it to your advantage? You could use it as a time to get yourself in the mind-set for work at the start of the day and wind down after work. One of the best things about working in an office is the separation between work and home and this can be boosted by making better use of your commute.
Podcasts are a great way to turn a dull commute into an opportunity to expand your mind; you could download one of the many excellent learn-a-language podcasts or even get that novel you’ve always wanted to read in audio book form and listen away.
~ Peter Ames on behalf of Office Genie; a UK desk space marketplace
Chelsea Griffith
chelsea@homestyledirect.com
1(866) 735-0921 Ext 104