Contemplating your to-do list can leave you overwhelmed and feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day.
So it’s helpful to start by focusing not on how you can “do more” but how you can become more valuable. In other words, nurturing yourself to relieve and manage stress, so you can maximise your effectiveness at work and beyond.
Anthony Robbins refers to the hour of power, others call it the non-negotiable hour. Part of being productive is scheduling regular time for personal well-being and development, so you’re not just functioning, but ideally thriving. Here are a few simple strategies for maximising your value in the workplace.
Completed to-do lists could be worth saving as “done” lists. Think of them as little trophy-like reminders of a hard week/month or year’s accomplishments, helping to develop confidence in your ability to get things done – however big or small.
Psychologist Albert Bandura refers to these accomplishments as “mastery experiences” in his acclaimed research on “self-efficacy” – which is an individual’s belief in their own ability to achieve goals. He believes our past achievements help to counter fear and reduce procrastination, when it comes to tackling future tasks or challenges. So next time you tick off your to-do list, keep it aside as a reminder of your productivity.
Do you ever ask yourself, “why am I so tired?” Obviously it’s important to first ensure you’re in good health by visiting your GP, but often fatigue is linked with burnout. It goes without saying that you’re no good to anyone if you’re burnt-out, but sometimes we’re so caught up with how much there is to do, that we neglect ourselves.
In order to work effectively and efficiently you must maintain your own basic needs. You can build your resilience to stress and immunity to sickness by ensuring you are getting proper nutrition, hydration, sleep, rest and physical activity.
Don’t have time? Make time.
This might mean rising earlier or leaving work on time to sneak in exercise to clear your head, writing in your diary, cooking, reading a book, or listening to music or a podcast. Indulge in whatever fulfils or represents balance, to you.
This is purely about planning and taking regular breaks, within the work day. You’re entitled to a break, so wherever possible, make it a non-negotiable action, even if you need to cut it short.
Science has proven that your mood/mindset impacts your productivity, and that brief breaks are necessary to support performance in the workplace.
A University of Illinois study, published in Science Daily, gathered 84 subjects and divided them into 4 groups to analyse how the brain processes information.
As expected, most participants’ performance declined significantly over the course of the task, with the exception of one of the 4 groups. This group took two brief breaks from their main task, allowing them to stay focused during the experiment, and their performance unimpaired.
The study concluded that prolonged attention to a single task, actually hinders performance, and that deactivating and reactivating your goals via brief mental breaks will actually help you stay focused on your task.
The simple fact is the busier you are, the more important breaks are because a frazzled, burnt-out individual is no match for a healthy rested one.
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