1. Limit your indulgences. Another word might be “sacrifice,” but you need to create an environment of relative reward scarcity so that you have the time and energy to focus on your work and, most importantly, to really appreciate the rewards when you do allow yourself. Another writer more succinctly wrote this initiative as “celebrate, don’t stagnate,” meaning that if you allow yourself an unfettered reward system, like partying or vacationing all the time, it begins to hinder your productivity.

2. Work hard, play hard – schedule large rewards immediately after major deadline dates. Make sure you are specific about what your reward is going to be. Write the event on the calendar after a project due date. This way, you have a visual reminder of major scheduled downtime so that you won’t try to sneak any in before the project is completed.

3. Enjoy the small things daily. So you’ve followed the first two rules by limiting your partying time and scheduling your major rewards. What about the small things that you can do every day to appreciate your work efforts? The thing is, the daily rewards may be the most important ones. They don’t need to be large or expensive; in fact, they may not cost you any money at all. These rewards can be 10-minute breaks to take a walk away from your desk, or enjoying a sweet drink in place of your usual juice or coffee. It’s important that these rewards are directly connected to blocks of working time, and remind yourself often that you are enjoying this reward because it reflects all the work you’ve done so far.

4. “Failure is always an option.” This phrase is from Mythbuster’s Adam Singer, but it’s really an update on an old adage you’ve probably always known. As a child, this is how you probably learned how to walk, how to swim, or how to ride a bike. You try, you fall, and you get back up. Though we rarely recognize it, failure involves a lot of hard work as well; it always marks how far we are pushing ourselves, and we usually always learn from it. For those reasons, failures should also be celebrated as necessary and welcome parts of any work in progress.

We hope that we have helped you learn to reward yourself strategically to optimize your productivity and job satisfaction at work! Remember that rewards come in all shapes and sizes, and that celebrating both your successes and your “failures” only means that twice the reason for celebration!

Source:

Author Unknown. “Celebrate Your Success.” PluginID.

URL: http://www.pluginid.com/celebrate-your-success/

1. Adjust your attitude. Think about the past few incidents at work that have caused you stress. Do you see any patterns in how your own behaviour or actions affected the situation? Maybe you tend to be a pessimist at work, overvaluing the negative aspects at the expense of seeing the benefits. Or maybe you have some assumptions about co-workers that directly affect your relationship with them. Once you have identified your own bad habits or tendencies (and we all have them), recollect on those past incidents and consider if they could have turned out different had you been aware of your behaviour.
2. Ask better questions. When something goes wrong at work, the first questions should be “What went wrong? What could I have done?” rather than “Who is to blame?” Assigning blame to single out one person for a mistake is short-sighted. Everyone makes mistakes, but in a work environment where blame is assigned to individuals, the possibility of personal responsibility is extinguished because no one wants to be singled as the “weak link.” However, if everyone begins to ask, “What could I have done to prevent this?” even when it is not directly their “fault,” you can improve workplace morale and foster more of a collective team environment at work.
3. Admit your own mistakes. This is a necessary rule only because your actions at work will almost always affect other co-workers, if not the company. If you have made a mistake, it’s easier to admit your error and have people help you develop an action plan to remedy it rather than letting the mistake grow into something bigger. You can only learn from the mistake by admitting when you have done something wrong and then by moving forward to correct it. People tend to respect someone who makes a gracious recovery from failure more than those who claim that they are infallible.
4. Develop “good” bad habits at work. While office gossip tends to veer towards negative observations about other employees, there is nothing that says it can’t be used to foster good will about others. When was the last time you talked “good” behind someone’s back at work, or openly appreciated someone’s efforts in front of them? Next time you find yourself immersed in a negative conversation about another co-worker, try to change the topic or to find a positive aspect of the subject. Another popular conversation subject at work involves complaining about or mocking company policies, but it’s erroneous to think that these conversations are useful because they are critiquing “flawed projects or proposals.” It’s much more constructive to consider both the pros and cons of any work-related initiative and to relay potential blind-sights in the plans to the relevant manager.
5. Continue to cultivate your communication skills. The root of many misunderstandings at work is usually an error somewhere in communication. When communicating with others in a business setting, always consider the business background of the people involved and their position in the particular situation. For example, would you use heavy technical jargon from your field in a conversation with someone from another department? Most likely, you would explain things in the plainest way possible. Challenge yourself to convey only the most necessary information in the clearest and most concise manner possible with each communication. This will improve your own comprehension of the situation and help you to prioritize and organize information effectively. It may even earn you praise from your co-workers for your efforts in reducing communication confusions! These are just some of the ways that you could begin to take personal responsibility at work to improve your workplace environment and your own productivity. These tips emphasize that while there are many things out of your control – the weather, traffic, behaviours and attitudes of other co-workers – the most important things are in your grasp.

Sources:

Author Unknown. “Work-Life Balance.” Mental Health Foundation.org. URL: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-a-z/W/work-life-balance/

Ayers, Keith. “Creating a Responsible Workplace.” HR Magazine (February 2005): 50.2. URL: http://engagementisnotenough.com/pdfs/HR_Magazine_RBW.pdf

Crossman, Melissa. “Keeping the Buck: Fighting the Urge to Blame Others by Taking

Responsibility in the Workplace.” The People Equation.com. URL: http://peopleequation.com/keeping-the-buck-fighting-the-urge-to-blame-others-taking-responsibility/

Singer, Adam. “Failure is Always an Option.” TheFutureBuzz. Date: 1 July 2010. URL: http://thefuturebuzz.com/2010/07/01/failure-is-always-an-option/

Wilson, Jennifer. “Six Benefits of Taking Personal Responsibility.” American Institute of CPAs. http://www.cpa2biz.com/Content/media/PRODUCER_CONTENT/Newsletters/Articles_2012/CPA/Mar/PersonalResponsibility.jsp

Stress is something that will happen to nearly everyone while they are at work. While stress cannot be completely eliminated from your work life, there are strategies that you can use to reduce its effects on you. Otherwise, left unaddressed, stress can manifest from one bad day at work into physical health problems like high blood pressure or even into serious mental health problems.

Read on how to identify, to prevent and to handle workplace stress for your own well-being.

1. Take care of yourself outside of work. Socialize after work, eat healthy, exercise, and get enough sleep. Developing hobbies or interests outside of work will help you put work problems into perspective; cultivating a social life will provide you with an important support base for discussing your concerns or problems; and taking care of yourself physically will improve your energy level at work as well giving you a physical outlet to work out those stress-related emotions.
2. Remember the good things. On some days, this may be difficult to do, but choosing to adopt a more optimistic attitude can really help you get through stressful days or even weeks. Stress is often caused by focusing excessively on the negative aspects of a certain situation, but there’s often a beneficial perspective that you might not be able to see yet.
3. Stress begins and ends with you. Was that stressful to hear? Think of it as an empowering opportunity. There will always be demands placed on you or difficult situations that may envelope you, but the most important thing is how you choose to respond to them. Your response demonstrates your ability to identify the seriousness of the situation and your creative capacity to handle it. Next time you feel stress, try to think of the habits or behavioral patterns you use to deal with the situation. Do these habits help to remedy the problem or do they exacerbate it? How else can you act next time to get a quicker, more positive result

Managing Other People’s Stress

Working with overstressed individuals can be difficult. Left unattended, overstressed employees can hinder productivity and diminish workplace morale, in addition to eventually harming themselves. Below are some tips to help identify and address stress among co-workers and employees:

1. Accept that stress manifests uniquely for each worker. Stressed behavior among employees is varied and often includes a mixture of symptoms that may not immediately signal workplace stress. If you’re a manager, frequent communication with your employees will foster positive relationships that can help you identify when those employees begin to exert stressed behaviors. Maintaining a good relationship will also make them more open to talking with you about their concerns (if they are aware of their stress) later. Ask them how they’re doing with whatever project or work they are currently involved in. Gauge their responses and see if there is anything you can do to alleviate some of their stress. Keep in mind also that the stressed behavior may not be work-related at all; in that case, keep questions about well-being vague so that their response might alert you to the source of stress. Common symptoms of stress often include fatigue, irritability, anger, forgetfulness, and excessive anxiety. Note that these symptoms often come in combinations and that the symptoms listed are only the most common ones.
2. Develop a stress management plan at work. Employers tend to overlook stress management as a key issue when implementing work productivity programs, even though workplace stress is intimately related to time management and overall employee health. It’s important to recognize stress management by educating employees about common symptoms, long-term health risks, as well as offering various outlets for stress relief at work. Solutions could be developing a workplace language for employees to “express their stress” effectively at work or identifying management or HR representatives that employees can go to when they need to talk. Sometimes the simple act of recognizing that workplace stress is a legitimate cause for concern is enough to alleviate stress levels.

Workplace stress today is a complicated matter that involves anxiety over job security, longer work hours, and shorter deadlines. However, with the right planning, training and attitude about stress management, you can diminish stress and enjoy your work life.

Sources:

Author Unknown. “Strategies for managing stress.” VirtualOffice.com. URL: http://www.virtualoffice.com/blog/strategies-for-managing-stress/

Segal, Jeanne et al. “Stress at Work: How to Reduce and Manage Workplace and Job Stress.” Helpguide.org. URL: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/work_stress_management.htm

1. Plan out your workday. Take five minutes in the morning to write a to-do list, detailing what you need to do and by when. There are many variations on this simple tactic, but Peter Bregman has some great reasons for using it: the list will help you remember your priorities for that day against the many interruptions, distractions, and surprises that arise out of a typical workday. Bregman’s own version of the to-do list involves checking your list every hour of the day, (hence the title of his book 18 Minutes), to review your list and track how much you have achieved so far, as well what more you may have to do.
2. Be specific about tasks. If you’re not careful in writing your to-do list, you could be Sisyphus, doing the same task over and over again. Why? Most likely because you do not have an end goal in mind for that particular task, or in other words, you are not being specific enough in your planning. Instead of using abstract project and file names that may seem monolithic with their repetitious weekly appearances on your to-do list, break the project down into small tasks that must be completed within that week.
3. The same rule applies to writing down your weekly goals. This is the most important rule to keep in mind for time management. Being specific about what you plan to achieve by the end of the week will give you the right focus to schedule your daily tasks and the motivation to strive through seemingly pointless jobs or very difficult ones that might discourage you along the way. The most effective word to think of when writing your weekly goals is “limitation” because this word will remind you to make your goals (weekly ones, at least), and tasks, more manageable to your situation and available time frame. This rule will prevent self-inflicted work overload that sets you up for failure even before you begin. Note: If you need to adjust the time frame for the goal, adjust your level of specificity accordingly when writing them down. Dream big, but set realistic goals towards that dream.
4. Optimize your work ethic. If possible, schedule difficult, time-consuming tasks for when you are most alert, and save the less demanding work for your downtime. This will help reduce the amount of errors that may occur in your work by working with your body’s natural energy cycle to maintain optimal concentration.
5. Take advantage of “unofficial” break times and slow work days. Contrary to fervent popular belief, taking a break from your desk to do non-work-related activities can actually be counterproductive to your work day. It’s better to use most of your unofficial breaks from the immediate work on your desk to do relevant tasks, like filing paperwork, writing neglected emails, or checking the progress of your to-do list. Doing this will keep you in a “working mindset” while at the same time giving you some variety at the office.
6. Plan for the unexpected. Or more importantly, adjust your attitude for the unscheduled. Most of this article is about managing your time effectively as much as you can, and part of that management means accepting that there will always be moments or days when surprises land on your perfectly planned desk. The best thing you can do is learn to be flexible and to accept surprise projects or deadlines graciously. Cultivating your creativity to shift mindsets for different tasks and juggle various deadlines will make you an invaluable employee.

We hope that these tips will come in handy for you during the next work week! Of course, while the professional benefits of time management are obvious (improved productivity and accuracy at work), the personal side effects, like lessening your stress load, are considerable as well. Look for our article on how to manage work-related stress tomorrow!

Sources:

Author unknown. “Overwhelmed at Work? 8 ways to get organized.” SoFeminine.co.uk. URL: http://www.sofeminine.co.uk/mag/psycho/d3743.html

Bregman, Peter. “18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done.” PeterBregman.com. Date Unknown. URL: http://peterbregman.com/18-minutes/

Wray, Nicole. “Three Secrets of Super-Productive People.” Workopolis.com. Career resources. Date: 1 August 2012. URL:

http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/2607-three-secretsof-super-productive-people

If you work in an office, I can take a guess. You probably commute to work, most likely by car. Then you come to your desk and turn on your computer and work for at least 8 hours. Considering your average work week, commute time, and resting periods, you probably sit for at least 9 hours a day. Do you think this is a relatively benign day? Does it surprise you that health-conscious actions can be erased with too much sitting even though you may pack a healthy lunch and work out regularly before or after work? It may sound silly, but recent scientific studies on obesity and sedentary lifestyles have shown that this kind of persistent physical inactivity can lead to obesity and disease, even premature death. These studies showed that when you’re sitting down, your body stops breaking down fat, which then seeps into your bloodstream and wraps around vital organs like your heart and liver, increasing your chances of getting heart disease and diabetes.

Culled from a variety of sources, here are some tips for improving physical activity at the office while simultaneously improving office productivity:

• Get up from your chair every 20 minutes to stretch and improve circulation to your legs.
• Leave a note or create a screen saver that shows up every 20 minutes to remind yourself to get up from your chair.
• Take telephone calls standing up for their duration.
• Walk to the farthest bathroom from your desk or send your print-outs to the farthest printer from you.
• Have a “walking meeting.” Instead of scheduling meetings in a boardroom, try to organize a meeting with a small group of people either standing up or on a wall.
• If you work at home, invest in a “standing desk.”

Ergonomics in the Office:

In addition to the longer term health risks of sitting, your use of an ordinary office chair may be contributing to damaging your spine and back. Most people only adjust their chair settings a few times within the chair’s lifetime, setting it for one sitting position. However, everyone moves their body throughout the workday, and your chair should be adjusted accordingly to these various positions. This concept of adjusting objects to suit the movements of the human body is sometimes referred to as “ergonomics.”

In 2003, a journal article from MedicineNet stated that “[e]rgonomics is the science of making things fit people instead of asking people to fit things.” To be even clearer, effective ergonomics involves choosing, arranging, and making the individual components of your workstation support and cushion your work behaviour to encourage your personal well-being, which maximizes your own office productivity.

Office ergonomics is about more than just adopting good posture while you’re at work; it is about understanding that work behaviour is dynamic, and that the office furniture and tools around you should suit how you move at work. From the way that you sit in your chair to the specific angle of your eyesight to your computer screen, a well-designed ergonomic workstation, personalized to your work behaviour, may be able to prevent overuse injuries, eyestrain, and physical discomfort, and a myriad of other work-related health issues.

The layout of an ergonomic workstation in an office setting should take into account how you sit and move in your chair, how often you use the keyboard or the mouse simultaneously, and how your eyesight adjusts itself to the screen in terms of a comfortable angle and brightness. Understanding these physical considerations will help you choose the best furniture and accessories for your workspace.

By embracing ergonomic design into your office space, you can improve your work productivity while safeguarding your health for the long run!

Sources:

Reynolds, Gretchen. “Don’t Just Sit There.” The New York Times Online. URL:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/sunday-review/stand-up-for-fitness.html?_r=1

Springer, Tim. “The Future of Office Seating.”

http://www.knoll.com/research/downloads/wp_future_ergonomic_seating.pdf

 Middleton, Tracey Erb. “Stand Up for Your Health.”

Women’s Health

Magazine. September

2012. 66-68.

Reynolds, Gretchen.

Fresh Air Interview

. NPR Podcast. May 2012.

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