Maximizing workplace productivity is key to a successful business, and there are more than a few tools available that claim to help with productivity management. There are also several simple changes that you can begin making right away to get your business back on the path to success! Then you can go the extra mile by using software to track your time and improve your workplace productivity.
1. Invest in Quality Office Furniture
It may sound ridiculous, but when you think about how long you spend sitting in your office chair, it makes sense that quality, ergonomic furniture would improve productivity.
Imagine sitting in a $25 office chair – the padding on the seat has worn thin, and the back of the chair offers little to no support. The longer you sit working, the achier you become. What are you focused on at this point in time?
Investing in some quality ergonomic office furniture keeps you comfortable, contributes to your health overall, and significantly improves your focus in the office!
As a bonus, fewer employees will experience back pain, eye strain, carpal tunnel symptoms, etc. and so fewer employees will be out of work because of chronic illness or strain related to office work. Fewer injuries or health complaints mean fewer medical claims will be filed, reducing company expenses, and boosting productivity!
2. Shut it All Down!
In 2018, Adobe conducted a survey of office workers throughout the United States and found that the average office worker spends five and a half hours daily checking email! Employees spend just over three of those hours working on or reading work email, and they spend the remaining two and a half hours on personal email.
In total, office workers like these are losing five and a half hours EVERY DAY to email distraction. This is a cost that no company can afford, so enforcing a strict no desktop distractions rule goes a long way in improving focus and productivity.
3. Create a Centralized Location For Communication
There are many services available that allow for intraoffice communication and implementing one of them will go a long way in streamlining office workflow and increasing productivity. These tools eliminate the need for long email chains and instead they allow for direct tagging, file attachments, and calendar collaboration!
4. Create a Centralized Hub For File Sharing
When working in an office workspace, there are undoubtedly files that everyone needs to be able to access regularly. Chasing up these files can wind up costing hours of productive company time each week! By creating a centralized hub for file sharing using a tool like Dropbox, every office employee can get instant access to the files they need when they need them no matter where they are in the world!
5. Add Plants to Your Office
It sounds bizarre to say that plants can help to improve office productivity, but it is true! Psychologists have discovered that adding plant life to the office space creates a more relaxed space and adds to the level of oxygen in the workspace. Researchers even quantified this increased productivity due to plant presence, finding a fifteen percent increase in productivity in workspaces with plant life!
6. Increase Employee Engagement
Increasing employee engagement by scheduling brainstorming sessions, project reviews, and interactive discussions creates a more engaging environment and improves employee “participation.” Not only does a more “hands-on” approach keep employees focused on projects, but it also develops a more creative workplace and improves communication, and builds relationships among employees for a more harmonious space.
7. Track Progress
Tracking time is a great way to determine where the time went during a workday. Time tracking is also a great way to track progress on projects to help keep employees on track and motivated!
There are several ways to track project progress. Some companies have a visual reminder (think of those charity boards that show how close a charity is to raising the funds they need for their cause.) Other companies have employees report their project progress in a more "corporate" way by requiring them to submit weekly reports or have weekly meetings.
However, you choose to track project progress having a reminder and enforcing accountability goes a long way in improving office productivity!
8. Try To Avoid Multitasking
We all like to think that we are capable of multitasking, but the truth is that most of us are not. When we multitask, we pay half of the attention to two jobs rather than one hundred percent of our attention on one job! Improve overall office productivity by focusing on one job at a time and giving it 100%.
It is also worth noting that multitasking leads to careless mistakes. One study has even shown that multitaskers reduce their productivity by up to forty percent simply by splitting their attention between multiple tasks!
9. Encourage Physical Activity
Sitting in a sterile office environment all day is hardly conducive to creativity, but researchers have shown that physical activity results in a significant boost in productivity! That is not to mention that increased physical activity contributes to a healthier workplace! Plus, healthier employees mean that fewer employees take time off work due to illness!
10. Implement a Time Tracker
If you have made recent changes to your office but continue to see productivity lagging, a time tracker can be an invaluable tool. A time tracker like Rize creates a viewable record of how users spend office time and help businesses and employee to pinpoint where they are falling short.
Conclusion
There are many tips and tricks that can help to improve workplace productivity and that of those around you. While it is certainly not feasible to implement each of the tips mentioned above, some productivity hacks are more valuable than others. We recommend beginning by installing a time tracker like Rize.
A quality time tracker will help you to pinpoint more specific barriers to your productivity on an individual level so that you can address each problem head-on for a more precise resolution.
This post was written by Macgill Davis, the cofounder of Rize.
