John Pencavel released a study for IZA and Stanford University in April 2014 – ‘The Productivity of Working Hours’, which revealed many surprising facts. According to this study, when your work-week surpasses 50 hours, you do not increase productivity easily but it notably decreases. Even more, after 55 hours your productivity declines so much that basically there is no point in working any further. Yes, there is no difference between people working for 55 hours and those working for 70 (or more!) per week.
This basically means that you do not have to work like a donkey for extra hours to increase your productivity. As, in the end you may not find any definite results. So what to do to increase productivity if not extra working hours? Try doing these things and we are sure that you will notice a significant difference very soon.
Okay so yes, we know that you have a family, responsibilities, a social life and a lot more. But you also have your own-self. Guess what, you yourself also need some pampering every once in a while. Well you can have some ‘Me’ time or go out for whatever you like, maybe a concert, a movie or a play, even with friends or family. Indulging in a spa, a sumptuous dinner, getting lost in books, etc. also helps. Oh well, some mindless shopping once in a blue moon is also not a bad idea, if it helps you release feel-good hormones, unless you aren’t financially broke.
Trust us; you need love from yourself as much as others do.
Remember the last time you went out for a date with your better half? Had a heart-to-heart conversation with a best friend? Helped your children with their home-work? We understand that you work at breakneck capacities to earn a living not only for yourself but your loved ones too. But money is not the only thing they need. Money can make a living. But to feel truly loved, they need your time and attention.
Believe it or not, your ‘Time’ is the most precious thing that you can offer to your loved ones. Moreover the best part about it is that it helps you also to relax and rejuvenate being in the vicinity of warmth, care, and love.
Most of the people have a habit of dumping their chores on the weekends. Your weekends are there to unwind after a long workweek. If you work on the weekends too, there will not be any major difference between weekdays and weekends. Yes, completing chores is important, but you can certainly schedule it in a systematic way. You can also divide the chores among family members.
Having a weekend does not mean paying attention to only chores. You need to pay equal attention to your relaxation time as well.
This is the most important point to keep in mind if you really want to increase productivity easily; being as simple as turning off your cellphone or at least staying away from it except for crucial reasons. We live in the mobile phone generation where we may be able to do without a pair of clothes but not without a cellphone. Believe it or not, cellphones have the ultimate capacity to disconnect you from yourself and your loved ones.
You may argue that it is not possible, as cellphones have facilities of video calls and messages to connect with loved ones overseas also. But in the illusion of being connected with everyone around the globe, we forget to connect to those who are right next to us.
If not every weekend, try disconnecting from your cellphone world every once in a while to connect with the ones around you, who are physically present. Try giving your cent percent focus and attention to them and trust us, you will feel much better without the extra stress of e-mails and work messages.
Folks, there may be a zillion ways to increase your productivity, some tough some easy. But the above mentioned ways are just some of them. We say, try these ways to increase productivity easily and it won’t be a disappointment for you.
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