Having an office job is never quite as easy as it is hyped up to be. From countless distractions to uncomfortable office chairs, there are a number of things that hurt your productivity as an office worker. You may think that working in an office is one of the safest jobs out there, in fact, office work is extremely dangerous. Sitting in front a computer four or more hours a day is actually increasing your risk of many deadly health related issues such as heart disease.
Take Frequent Breaks
If you are like me, it’s hard to focus on a task after sitting for too long. Furthermore, it is equally bad on your health to keep sitting. Studies have shown many links between those who sit at a desk 4+ hours per day and their likelihood to develop chronic diseases. Exercise can’t even make up for someone who spends their days on a chair. This makes it incredibly important to just get up and move around at least once every hour.
Make an excuse to move. If you have to take a call, don’t take it at your desk. Have meetings in another room, move your frequently used phone/stapler/printer further from your desk just so you have to get up and move more often. These mini activity breaks will help you focus better and maintain your health longer.
Regardless of how many standing breaks you get during the day, peppering in some daily cardio is good your heart and soul. Many will find their stress levels go down and focus just comes much easier if you have consistent exercise in your life. Can’t find the time to exercise? Consider biking to and from work each day. This exercise on your daily commute provides some serious health benefits!
Organize and Clean!
Having a messy workplace is a disaster to productivity. Keep your desk as clutter free as possible. It’s no joke that having piles of stuff laying around will distract and stress you out. Keeping everything clean and orderly will also save you time from searching through those mountains of papers and files. When unprocessed paperwork starts to pile up, put it in a box or bin next to your desk and sort it into orderly files or folders when you can. The amount of time you save by keeping things in the right places will help free you up to do your job more easily and quickly.
Get the Right Chair
Since you spend most of your day sitting, having a good office chair is extremely important. The wrong chair can cause back problems or just lead to daily discomfort which hinders your work. You might spend 30+ hours a week, which comes out to more than 1500 hours a year on this chair. In other words, you could be spending more time on your office chair than your own bed. Spend the money, or convince your company to purchase an aeron chair or a similar ergonomic chair for you. The wonders that a chair with such and advanced design can do for you both physically and mentally are numerous. If you can manage it you can also set up a standing workstation and do some office work on your feet instead of sitting all day.
Do things One at a Time
You can get so busy that it is tempting to do 13 projects at the same time. Your brain can’t handle this, regardless of how good you think you are at multitasking. You’ll get the jobs done faster if you devote your entire attention and brain power to one project at a time. Time management and GTD software can help you focus on your tasks so you can manage more things more efficiently throughout the workday focusing on only the actual task.
Get away from Distractions!
Most of us are easily distracted by our phones or the latest Youtube sensation which can be great escapes for your brain but they hurt your productivity enormously. If your phone is becoming a distraction, leave it in another room. Only check Youtube or Facebook during breaks when you need to let your mind rest. The less things yanking at your attention, the more productive you will be.
Eat Right at Work
Avoid eating junk food, instead eat snacks that stimulate your brain. Many people forget about proper nutriotion when they are busy but this is a great fault. If you are looking for the best power-ups, fruits and nuts are great pick-me-ups and provide energy to your brain which makes it easier to get your job done!