7 Shocking Things Actively Productive People Do That You Are Not Doing

The environment you work has a major impact on your daily output. This is because; your ability to focus is directly proportional to your productivity. In other words, the architecture of your office, despite the location, is of supreme importance.

According to a survey by a Janet Pogue, led team in 2012, the most important thing that determines the productivity of an employee is his environment. The studies specifically revealed that a well-designed and organized office space is more likely to improve productivity by 20%.

Contrary to the view held by the experts, more than half of the employers interviewed, disagreed with the research, arguing that office design is not part of business investment.

While you can improve some of these working conditions, there are others you may find hard to change.

In the remaining part of this article, we shall be discussing how you can improve your productivity with these 6 office design tricks.

Lighting

Light is the most important thing for every living creature; and its value to humans cannot be over emphasized. However, excessive lighting can cause its own damages, such as eye strain, headaches, fatigues and so on. Similarly, the absence of light reduces productivity to 100%.

The actions you take concerning lighting highly depends on the environment you work in. For instance, if your are working for a big company, you hardly have control over the lighting. The solution to this is to bring in your own lighting device, such as rechargeable lamps.

However, if you are working at home, you have 100% control over how light enters your office. If this was the case, always locate your office close to a natural light source. You should consider keeping your desk close to the window, because it is a major source of light. If you opt for light bulbs, go for bright light bulbs with adjustable knobs. This will help you to control the intensity of the light.

Furniture Arrangement

We all agreed that light is very important, but you need to sit on something while working. The choice you make when it comes to selecting the furniture for your office has a major impact on your productivity. Buy office furniture that you are comfortable with and suits your style.

Bear in mind that you will always need to stretch yourself, move parts of your body, shift your table and chairs, back, front, left and right. This is why it is very important for you to choose a correctly fitted table, and an office chair with wheels and a pneumatic height adjuster. Also, maybe you will need to rest your arms occasionally so consider this in your purchasing decision.

Notwithstanding this, always consider the space you have available to avoid clustering and making your office difficult to move around.

Another thing you should consider in positioning your furniture is the position of your computer screen. Research has shown that productivity is high when your eyes are 24-36 inches away from your screen. Additionally, always place the monitor below your or at your eye-level.

Don’t forget you would want to rest your feet, and remember, a slightly reclining chair posture is best to reduce pressure on your spine and minimize lower back pain.

Room Temperature

Comfort is the key to productivity. Working in an environment that is extremely hot or cold will only cause distractions. There is a lot you can do to control the temperature of your office. Though in many bigger firms and offices, you hardly have control over this, at home this is something you can adjust.

If the room is too hot, consider using an Air Conditioner, if you haven’t got one, sites like Gear Hungry can help you find the perfect one for you, or any other coolant. However, don’t turn it too high, as this might result in an extremely cold office. If you don’t have electricity, open the windows to allow ventilation and fresh air flow into your office. Natural air will make you feel more comfortable than working in a cold environment.

However, if you are working in a cold environment, consider wearing clothing that will keep your body warm. You should also close the windows and the air vents to prevent it from being excessively cold.

Keep It Clean

Keeping your environment clean has more benefit than you can imagine. Always have waste bin to put your waste papers, used food packs and other materials. Don’t clutter things around your office. In most cases you are in control of sweeping your office in the morning. Many of us who work from home or in a small office are victim of this. We fail to keep our environment clean, which causes distractions and reduces our productivity.

Also, consider putting some room scent in your office. This will keep away the smells from the waste bin (please don’t put items that gives off foul smell in your waste bin).

Always go for scents like Pine, Cinnamon, Lavender, Peppermint or Citrus. However, if you’re in public office, ask your colleagues if any of them are not comfortable with the scents.

Data Accessibility

Always keep your data accessible to you, while ensuring its security. Do not comprise the security of your data- be it paper or digital. However, this does not imply that you should make them inaccessible to you.

For instance, while working ideas will always come to you, make sure you jot them down, record them on your phone, and store them away where you can easily access them.

For your digital data, you can store them in secured cloud services, as this will make it easy for you to access them despite the location. Also for your paper work, always stack your files in their respective shelves, and label them well.

Minimize Noise Level

Majority of office spaces are always built with minimal noise level. This is because the concentration is difficult in a very noisy environment.

If you work in a very noisy environment, always minimize the noise, by closing the windows in which the noise is coming from.

However, if you have minimal control on the noise level, consider channeling the noise to another direction.

To effectively do this, you can play music on your computer using an earphone. This will reduce the amount of noise you hear outside, and increase your concentration on what you love, through the music you are hearing. It is not advisable to play high tempo music in situations like this, as this will only reduce your concentration and distract you even more. Always go for soft music that inspires you.

Final Thought

Your environment directly affects your output. In order to increase your productivity, always ensure an improved working environment that is comfortable for you. In as much as you can control any of these factors, always do so.

Meanwhile if you find this article helpful, please share it with your colleagues, friends, family and even your boss. We would like to hear your thoughts, drop your comments below.

About Charles Knox 1393 Articles
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