 Where are you working? Are you back to doing most of your work from your office, or still primarily working from home? Maybe a hybrid of the two, or maybe even from a neutral location? There are many different work scenarios we’re seeing with our clients these days. Some had plans to return to an office that are now delayed, so they continue to work exclusively from home. Others are returning to an office part time. Some have returned to an office full time. Still others are working from home effectively and have no plans to return to an in-person office. Work from anywhere and be productive! Wherever you are working, you want to be productive. You want to work smarter, not harder and not just spin your wheels. You want to get results and work in an effective and efficient way. By working effectively and efficiently, you’ll have more time for what you value most. We want that for you, too! That’s why we’ve created a guide to help you work productively from anywhere. When the pandemic was in it’s early days in the first quarter of 2020 and most people shifted to working from home full time (many while also having spouses, partners and children working or learning from home as well), we produced a Rock Your Work from Home guide to help. Working and living all under one roof presented some unique challenges, especially for those who were not accustomed to doing so. A year and a half later, and we’ve updated this guide to help you work from wherever you are, productively. There are some consistent strategies you can apply no matter where you are working to be able to focus on your priorities and get important things done. This guide can either validate that what you are doing is working or provide new strategies to boost your productivity. Get our free “Rock Your Work From Anywhere” guide Our free “Rock Your Work From Anywhere” guide contains practical tips and strategies to help you carve out your dedicated “anywhere” workspace, put processes into place, implement productive habits, and more! Read it, try out the ideas that feel best for you or modify as you see fit, and please let us know about your results! We’re cheering you along and are here to be a resource to you, your company or others you may know. Schedule your Discovery Call to learn more about how to have more time for what matters, no matter where you are working.  Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
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In business and life there are force multipliers—things that, when put in place or adopted, make other things easier. Force multipliers are small changes you can integrate into your daily routines. They may not seem like much, or take much effort in and of themselves, but they will ultimately save you time, stress, and make a positive impact in other areas of your job or life. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by responsibilities and wish things could be easier on a day-to-day basis? Do you wish you had more time in your day for your priorities? Try using force multipliers! Examples of force multipliers You can apply force multipliers in your life in a number of ways. A basic example is parking farther away in a parking lot or taking stairs instead of the elevator. These small changes get you where you need to be, integrate exercise into your day and help you achieve fitness goals. Other force multipliers that can advance your personal productivity include taking adequate mental and physical breaks throughout the day. When you give yourself time to recharge your brain and body, you can be more productive. Drinking plenty of water, eating smart, getting enough sleep and partaking in regular exercise keeps your body and mind fueled for performance. By taking time in your day to do these things, you’ll see results such as as heightened energy, focus, and creativity. Ultimately, you’ll gain more time and energy for things that matter most. Using force multipliers to improve productivity Automation of simple tasks can also be a powerful force multiplier. Automating small things, like sorting emails from certain senders into specific inbox folders, can have a huge impact resulting in more time. Automatic bill pay can alleviate stress from your monthly routines and ensure nothing important is missed. When automation isn’t feasible, delegation is also a great force multiplier to put to use. Delegating tasks to others to take things off your plate on a daily or weekly basis can save you time and stress. It gives you back time to focus on the things that only you can do or that are important to you like quality time with those you care about, to engage in hobbies or practice self-care. Another impactful force multiplier is the implementation of structure and systems in your routines and at work. Having reliable, repeatable, documented systems in place can help you in more ways than one. Knowing what steps to follow in order to get consistent results can greatly reduce stress and save time. Systems you can rely on also reduce complications when unexpected things do pop up. You’ll have clear directions for when and how to complete a routine task. You can share those with others if you opt for delegation. What systems could you take a little time to create once so that you consistently get results with less effort? If you want to make things easier in your life or work, implementing force multipliers could be your answer! Schedule your free, no-risk Discovery Call to learn how we can help bring structure and systems into your daily life. Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
Do you struggle with saying “no”? Do you take on too much, or allow others to take your time? When that happens, it is easy for your plate to become overloaded. With just 24 hours in a day, sometimes that is not enough for what everyone asks of you and for what you need. Learning how to respectfully say “no” is one of the most powerful time management strategies you can use. Saying “no” protects your time to stay on task and keep up with the priorities you’ve set. Saying “yes” to something means saying “no” to something elseWhen you say “yes” to one more work project, that may mean saying “no” to dinner on time with your family. “Yes” to a new “drop everything and focus on this” request from the boss may mean “no” to meeting an existing deadline. Learning how to say a respectful “no” is a skill everyone should learn. Some of us are just “yes” people out of habit, sense of obligation or eagerness to please. But over-scheduling or over-committing doesn’t do anyone any good. Our eagerness to say “yes” comes from a good place, but in the end, it can leave you feeling exhausted, stressed and burdened by your schedule. Saying no is a good skill to develop so you can stay healthy, avoid burnout, focus on your priorities and perform at your best. How do you say a respectful “no”? Everyone’s favorite manners writer, Anna Post (greatgrand-daughter of Emily Post) has some tips for perfecting this important skill:
When you are faced with the decision of saying “no” to something at work, this blog post details six tips you can try. Or, try the “yes, and…” technique. We like to share the “yes, and …” technique as an alternative to saying “no”. If you are a people pleaser, it is easier and more fun to say “yes” than no. “Yes, and …” is a conditional “yes”. For example: “yes, I can drop everything and do that for you now, and it means that this other project you had asked me to finish today will need to wait until next week. Do you agree that this is what you’d like me to do?” or “Yes, I can help you with that, AND, I’d be able to get it started next week; does that work for you?” “It’s About Time” to honor your boundaries of time management. Can we help you learn to respectfully honor your boundaries for better time management? Reach out today to schedule your free, no-risk Discovery Call! We can share tips and strategies that will help you maximize the time you have each day! Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
 What is a productivity transformation? Do you struggle with productivity and feel like you could make better use of your time each day? Are there priorities in your life or work that keep getting pushed down on your list? Do you wish there was an easy way to get on track and accomplish the things you need and want to? When you feel like you have too much on your plate, finding a path to productivity can be overwhelming. Is perfectionism getting in your way? Are you struggling with making decisions or find yourself procrastinating and putting things off? Perhaps you’re in a season of change or transition. You need clarity and a plan to identify and eliminate barriers and time wasters. Are there things that are keeping you from having time for what you want? You need a productivity transformation! To transform your productivity, take the following action steps:
Do I need a productivity transformation? If you are feeling tired, frustrated or like you’re spinning your wheels, it’s time for a productivity transformation. Can’t stand where you are any longer and want help with this process? Our Six-Month Productivity Transformation is the answer! The “It’s About Time Six-Month Productivity Transformation Package” is for overwhelmed, busy professionals. We’ll provide support, coaching and consulting that will allow you to learn and implement new strategies. You’ll establish and build on productive habits, and be held accountable for sustainable results! Put yourself first and reach your goals! Are you struggling with setting the priorities in your day, either at work or at home? If you’re putting everyone and everything else first, this is your time, and you are worth it! By prioritizing you, you positively impact others and impact your own productivity. Imagine what your return on investment will be when you reach your goal. You’ve eliminated your time wasters. You’re feeling very on top of things! You’re organized and productive! You have systems and support to sustain growth, work-life harmony and the results that you want – all with less stress! The next six months will pass no matter what. Decide to make time for what matters to you and get the results you’re after. Schedule a no-risk, no-cost Discovery Call. Let’s explore how we might work together and how you can start your transformation today!  Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
Have you ever heard of a device detox or a digital detox? We are all reliant upon our devices. Whether it is a laptop, tablet or mobile phone, many of us are tethered to at least one of them each day. They connect us to work, our family, friends and many other things. As convenient as using them can make life and work, how dependent are you on your devices? It might be hard to remember a time when digital devices weren’t a part of everyday life. Living in a COVID world has made people even more reliant. Today, we are communicating through screens to attend virtual work meetings or connecting with friends and family we can’t see in person. But when was the last time you completely unplugged, or had a day (or weekend) un-tethered from your devices? Does that feel impossible? Desirable? Stressful? Monitoring usage is a great first step! It’s easy on most mobile devices to monitor daily usage. Do you monitor how much time you are spending on your devices? Between phone, email, social media feeds, text messages, music, video or game apps – the time can quickly add up. Take a minute and check your usage, then decide if perhaps you need to set limits for how much time you are spending interacting in certain areas. On an iPhone, checking usage is simple – swipe right from the home screen and scroll down. It breaks out the usage in a number of categories, including for the day or the week. It will tell you how much screen time you’ve spent, in which apps, how many times you’ve picked up the device, and more. It’s eye-opening! Conveniently, though, it also offers a way (settings, screen time) to set limits on your app usage and schedule downtime away from your screen and the setting can be shared across other devices. On an Android phone you can check usage by setting up the “Digital Wellbeing” option. Like with the iPhone, you can get info about how you spend your time on your phone, set timers, manage your time in apps, and reduce distractions when you want to disconnect. Have you put boundaries in place with your friends and family to leave the devices down when you’re together IRL (“in real life”). No phones at the dinner table? Not checking your phone on walks? Leaving phones tucked away when in personal conversation or even while video conferencing, when not using the phone to do so? Turning off devices between certain hours? Is it time for a detox? If you find yourself increasingly reliant upon and tethered to your devices – it might be time to take a break and detox! Pick an afternoon, evening, full day, weekend or whatever time period you can tolerate to unplug and engage in things that don’t require or involve a device. Go for a hike. Walk with a friend. Do something creative with your hands. Get lost in a good book. Play with your kids. Brainstorm a new strategy or project for work on paper or a whiteboard. Try out a new recipe. Mind map, day dream, or plan the vacation you’ll take once you’re able. Retreat to a cabin in the woods and just “be”. Let us know how you chose to spend your time during your device detox. You may just get back in touch with something you’ve been missing! How could you incorporate periodic device or digital detoxes into your day, week or month? If you could use more information, strategies, guidance or accountability in taking a device detox or digital detox, we’re here for you. We can help you learn how to set boundaries around your usage and work and function in a more productive way, with new habits and routines. We offer several ways to work together to give you the results you desire and time back in your day! Contact us today or schedule a free, no-risk Discovery Call… then shut your device down and take a short break from screen time. You’ll be glad you did! Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
Do you have a toolkit (literal, or metaphorical) that you can dig into when stress is impacting your productivity? If so, what do you keep in it? If not, what things would you need for it to contain? Having the right tools to keep you on track with your priorities is the best way to prepare for the curve balls life throws your way. Although we can’t control everything that happens to or around us, we can equip ourselves with helpful strategies and self–care habits that help us be productive. Everyone experiences sadness, disappointment, anger and frustration, whether it is from an internal or external source. How you handle these various forms of hurt and negative emotion will determine the impact they will have on your ability to process them, return to a more positive state, maintain health and wellness and be more productive. What’s in Your Productivity Toolkit? Here’s what Sports Psychologist Dr. Jarrod Spencer recommends having in your toolkit to help you stay healthy and productive: Sleep Sleep is the #1 priority. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep each night, consistently, is important for productivity and for effectively dealing with stress, hurt and other negative emotions. At least three straight nights of consistent sleep leaves your body and mind feeling good and recharged. The rejuvenation provided by adequate sleep allows us to think more clearly in order to solve problems, learn and retain new information, and gives us the cognitive capacity to better manage our emotions. Physical Activity Regular exercise is an imperative tool. Sweat every day and release those feel-good brain chemicals! If this is hard to do because you have no energy and you’re emotionally tired, take an introspective walk. Get some fresh air and a little movement – it can help a lot. Exercise helps with brain fog, stress relief, and boosts your energy levels throughout the day. Exercise also enhances your creativity. It allows you to learn things more quickly, sharpens your memory and improves concentration. All of these benefits are important when effectively dealing with negative emotions or hurt. Catharsis Once you have regained some energy through consistent sleep and exercise, the next step is processing these emotions properly. This allows you to let out what you’re feeling and not let the negative energy get pent up inside you. Processing emotions also teaches you valuable knowledge about life and about yourself. Cry, vent, talk it out, yell, release. Who do you like to listen to and take advice from? Who is your sounding board? Make sure it is someone you feel comfortable with and someone you can trust to be non-judgmental. Activities and Hobbies Try a new activity or pursue a hobby. Make art and express your emotion through your creations. Explore different mediums, try new artistic avenues. Don’t worry about being perfect or even good at it. Just have fun and create whatever comes to mind. What do you like to do for fun that recharges or energizes you? What new activity would you like to try? Use this outlet to release tension, relieve stress, and have fun. Outside Help Sometimes we can’t cure the hurt ourselves and need to seek outside help. Diagnosed depression is a medical condition and there are certain physiological factors involved. Talk to your physician and consider therapy, especially if depression, anger, or hurt is impacting your productivity, energy, interest and ability to engage with things you used to enjoy. Be the Light When you lift up and encourage others, positivity around you expands and serves you, too. Know someone else who is hurting or going through a stressful time? Validate. Empathize. Encourage. Support. Maybe you can be their outlet or bring some fun into their life by introducing them to your latest hobby. Let your light shine! Acceptance It’s perfectly ok and healthy to feel emotion, even negative ones. Lows come with the highs; feeling this entire range of emotion is what makes us human. Experience it. Process it. Learn from it, and then select some options from this toolkit to help you move forward and maintain good health and productivity. Let’s build your toolkit! Having the right tools to deal with the emotions and hurt that is inevitable in life is so important in order to maintain the best, healthiest, most productive version of yourself. Your toolkit will help you get done what you want and need to throughout your day, week and life. Your toolkit and its contents can also be preventative. By utilizing these tools even when you’re feeling well, you’ll have the resilience to effectively deal during times of stress. How do you handle stress and not let it derail you? Do you need help building your productivity toolkit? There are several ways that Simply Placed can help! Start by scheduling your free no-risk Discovery Call today. Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
What do confidence and productivity have in common? Confidence, in essence, is what turns ideas into actions and tangible results. By definition, it is the feeling or belief of reliability or trust in something or someone. Self-confidence is a belief in ourselves. Confidence in ourselves is positively correlated with our performance and productivity levels. When our confidence levels rise, we are less likely to quit and more likely to follow through and complete something we set out to do. As a result, in some cases we see far greater success than we originally imagined. Do you have something that you’ve been procrastinating on starting because of self-doubt? Maybe it’s hard, you haven’t done it before, or it’s a bit outside your comfort zone? This is a common reason for procrastination. If the results are something that you really want (your “why”), then it’s worth the effort. Your “why” is your most positive motivator and can help you discover some tactics to boost your confidence, productivity and allow you to get that thing done. While we can be our best cheerleader (#yougotthis), we can also be our own biggest critic. We tend to judge ourselves more harshly than others, which depletes our self-confidence and leads us to staying stagnant in our comfort zone. The good news is that there are some things we can do to be more cheerleader and less critic … How to boost confidence and productivity In order to grow and see the breadth of your own potential, try some of these confidence boosting suggestions to end your procrastination and accomplish more than you originally thought possible! We’ve collected a few of Sports Psychologist Jarrod Spencer’s recommendations and added in a few of our own: Write a confidence script Doing something new and somewhat scary? Write and refer to a confidence script! Write down 10 facts you already know that indicate you could be successful with this new thing. For example: giving a new presentation to a new team or audience? This could be your confidence script:
Practice positive self-talk Switch negative self-talk to positive self-talk with affirmations (positive statements written in the present affirming success, results, achievement that you desire or are working towards). Begin with “I am…” statements, such as “I am committed to …” or “I am capable of …” or “I am easily and effortlessly … “. Acknowledge your own strengths. Visualize success
Ask for a pep talk
Shift your mindset
Done is better than perfect
Celebrate your accomplishments, everyday
Use these confidence boosting techniques daily to build your own self-confidence and minimize your self-doubt. Focus on your successes and with your heightened self-confidence you will continue to see the most productive and successful version of you! If you’d like help adding confidence building habits that can help boost your productivity, schedule your free no-risk Discovery Call to see how we can partner with you in your success! We’d love to help you be your own cheerleader as well as join your cheer squad. Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
My husband and I were in CA watching our son pitch for his collegiate baseball team on March 9th 2020. When we flew down on the 6th we dutifully used sanitizing wipes to clean the area around us on the airplane, washed our hands well and frequently, and greeted other parents of the team with elbow bumps (the new “handshake”). Little did we know that game on the 9th that we were lucky enough to attend would be the last we’d see (and that the team would play) for that and the subsequent baseball season. By Tuesday the 10th the college put out a policy that no fans would be able to attend home games. “That’s ok”, we thought, as there would still be a couple of “away” games in the area that we’d attend during our visit. By the very next day, Wednesday the 11th, the decision had been made to shut the campus down, students were to pack up their rooms and vacate within the next few days. The team held a closed “for fun” last practice on the 12th – pitchers hit, those who had never pitched did so, there was a lot of laughter, levity they all needed, and, according to my son, not a dry eye as they thought of the Seniors and left the field to clean up and head to a quickly scheduled “End of Season Banquet” at a near-by restaurant. Our son packed up his things, checked out of this dorm room and moved home within the next two days to resume school online. It got eerily quiet in many ways. Also that week work ground to a halt as clients cancelled conferences, speaking engagements, in-person productivity training, in-person consultations and organizing sessions. We personally cancelled a trip for later that month to celebrate my 50th Birthday and would later cancel a big trip for the fall to celebrate my husband’s. It felt hard to be productive. We had to pivot. I wrote a “Rock Your Work From Home” guide that I hoped would help our clients and community and offered that as a free resource. I offered a free “Organize to Optimize” webinar and then turned that into an affordable mini-course available on our website. I accepted the opportunity to co-Author a new book, 1 Habit for a Thriving Home Office. This was a collaborative project that kept me connected and in communication with others at a time that I needed that type of interaction. I turned training sessions into webinars, complete with enhanced hand-outs, manager’s guides, exercises, break-out rooms and activities that could be conducted virtually to keep participants engaged. I added two new webinars to help with common challenges our clients were facing. Work Productively From Home and Maximize Your Energy to Optimize Your Productivity remain a couple of our most requested workshops. Our team offered virtual organizing and productivity consulting sessions to help people even when we couldn’t be together in person. I created and launched our 6-Month Productivity Transformation Coaching Package. This is our most customized and totally virtual offering for those really ready to stop spinning their wheels, who are tired of feeling disorganized and overwhelmed and want to consistently focus on their priorities. I faced other productivity challenges and had to make some changes To deal with the stress of the pandemic and other happenings beyond my control, I also had to increase my level of self-care. I adjusted my expectations of what I could get done, and scheduled more time off to not “produce”. This was a lesson learned after almost nine months of working harder than ever before, not taking time off, and reaching a state of stress and burn-out that negatively impacted my physical and mental well-being. The changes I have made have been so helpful. I’ve noticed a difference in my productivity and my happiness. I know these changes have positively impacted those I serve and those around me. While productivity for me and the Simply Placed team looked different in the last year, we never lost sight of our definition of productivity – “Achieving Desired Results”. I never questioned whether Simply Placed would survive. I wanted it, our clients, and our community, to thrive, even if that was in a new way. What’s been your story? What productivity challenges have you faced while working remotely? In what ways did you have to pivot? In March 2020, people left their workplaces for what they thought might be a month or maybe two. We shifted into a “temporary” work from home mode. But in reality, most were still working fully remotely 12 months later and many will be for the foreseeable future. While many have adapted to a virtual work environment, for others the transition has been stressful, overwhelming and, in some cases, less productive. Every day, we are managing disruptions to schedules, our environment, and how we connect with others. We’re managing a lot all under one roof. All of that impacts our productivity. Perhaps you or someone you know is also experiencing Zoom Fatigue from being “always on”, via video. If so, you’re not alone in that, either. How we adapt to it, however, is paramount to our productivity and our energy, as teleconferencing is here to stay. What has challenged you the most? Everyone has felt the stress of the pandemic. And we want to stay productive at work while managing the other priorities of life at the same time. How productive have you been working from home?
Weigh in on your productivity challenges We recently polled our “Organize to Optimize” Facebook group and asked participants their biggest productivity challenge:
How many of those resonate with you? What’s been your experience? What has been your biggest productivity challenge? We’d really like to know! Are you practicing self-care and keeping up with the priorities in your life and work? Could your daily routines use a tune-up to help you work more productively and with focus and intention? We see your productivity challenges and we can help! Sometimes, we just need to hit the “reset” button. We can reboot our habits to be productive and get time back for what matters the most. We need to take time to take care of our self. Once we’ve done that, it is possible to be productive during times of stress. It’s been a year! Whether you are planning to return to your workplace in a full-time or hybrid mode, or will be continuing to work from home longer term, we can help. We can teach you strategies to take away the overwhelm, fatigue, and be more productive in your day. Schedule a free discovery call today! Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
If you feel mentally and physically exhausted today, this week or seemingly all the time, you’re probably not getting enough “rest”. No matter what job you have or what type of person you are, everyone needs rest. It’s a time for restoration of your body and mind to rejuvenate you back to a state of optimal performance. In today’s busy world, there is always another email to respond to, a meeting to attend or task to complete. As a result, life is constantly moving at a fast pace and with a sense of urgency. When this happens, everything else, including self-care, gets put on the back burner. To avoid becoming entirely exhausted and burned out, it is important to remember to rest and give yourself a break. No matter what job you have or what type of person you are, everyone needs rest. It’s a time for restoration of your body and mind to rejuvenate you back to a state of optimal performance. Mental rest vs “sleep” Not only is it important to rest at night and get a good night’s sleep, it is equally as necessary to rest your mind during your waking hours too. Here are some suggestions for how you can rest your mind and body in addition to sleep:
Let us help you include “rest” in your daily routines All of the above tips can work wonders on your physical and mental energy levels. Rest allows you to feel rejuvenated, motivated, and productive. It boosts your overall well-being in and outside of work so that you can lead the life you want to live. Give yourself mental rest in addition to physical rest. You’ll see things from different angles, approach problems with new perspectives and increased energy. Through our productivity consulting, training or coaching, Simply Placed can help you create habits and routines that include rest in your day. Schedule your free, no-risk Discovery Call and get started today. Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
Stress can negatively affect your productivity and quality of work. High levels of stress can leave you with a lack of energy, creativity and focus, increased feelings of anxiety. When your mind is worrying, it draws your attention away from the task at hand. It is mentally draining and decreases your productivity in the present moment increasing the chance of overlooking small mistakes. It can also take a physical toll on your body. More frequent sick days can result in an even larger loss of productivity. Some levels of stress can be good for boosting your motivation and productivity, however. Not feeling stress about the tasks at hand can leave you bored, unengaged and uninterested in doing a good job, but slightly increased levels can help to spark interest, creativity, and increase our engagement and productivity. As stress increases, productivity and performance also increase—up to a point. The Yerkes-Dodson law says the dependency between stress and productivity/performance follows a bell curve. Optimal stress levels for peak performance differ for each person and also depend on the complexity and your familiarity with the task at hand. Tips and tricks for reducing stress If you are feeling very high stress levels, there are some things you can try to reduce that. As always, make sure you are tending to personal care at home. Getting a good night’s rest is #1 in the stress reduction tool kit. Also, make sure you are also eating nutritious foods and fitting regular exercise into your schedule throughout the week. Meditation and focused breathing are also great sources of relief. Partake in relaxation, fun, and/or creativity experienced through other personal hobbies or outlets outside of work. Journaling or talking with someone else can also help to identify your source(s) of stress. This enables you to take direct action to solve the root cause of the problem. To reduce stress during the workday, take periodic breaks to give your brain and body time to rest and reset. If you are feeling overwhelmed, try to reduce your workload by delegating or outsourcing some of your tasks, when possible. Using a time and task management system helps reduce stress, allowing you to feel more organized so nothing slips through the cracks. Lastly, try to focus on the aspects of your work that you do have control over. If you are able, choose projects to work on that you are personally more interested in. As a result, you’ll be more invested in the end product. By increasing your sense of control over your tasks, you’ll feel more engaged and stimulated by your work and in turn your focus and productivity will increase. Or, increase your stress and feel more engaged If you are at the other end of the bell curve and need to increase your stress levels at work a bit in order to feel more engaged, try some of these tricks:
We can help you find the balance Stress is a spectrum and a natural part of life for everyone. Different levels of stress may assist or hinder your performance, depending on you and the type of work you do. If you are feeling too stressed to be fully present and productive, OR you are feeling bored and not engaged enough to produce your best work, try some of the tricks above to find the optimal level of stress needed to reach your peak productivity and performance levels. How do you handle stress and not let it derail you? If you feel that stress is getting in the way of your productivity, there are several ways that Simply Placed can help! Start by scheduling your free no-risk Discovery Call today. Debbie Rosemont is a Certified Professional Organizer, Productivity Consultant and Trainer and Owner of Simply Placed. Simply Placed teaches organized systems and productive habits that allow busy professionals to maximize their time, focus on their priorities, reduce stress, improve their customer service and increase their bottom line. She is the author of Six-Word Lessons to Be More Productive.
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