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How to be productive in office?

“Productivity” We corporate people hear this word every now and then. We are always asked to push towards giving more productivity. But simple it looks; productivity is a hard nut to crack. Productivity is not about working complete 8 hours of the day without taking any breaks. Or stretching your day beyond regular 8 hours and making other envious. Productivity is giving our best in working hours. Having said that, I also believe in having a few extra hours where we can think about just us. But the question is from where those extra hours will come?


With best of my understanding and experience of 8 years in IT sector, I have a suggestion.  Start your morning on the productive note and by the end of the day, you’ll have at least an hour for yourself. And this absolutely doesn’t mean skipping those short coffee and tea breaks. You can take them and still can enjoy a productive day.

Rule 1. Don’t check your email until it’s necessary: Many of us have a habit of checking email as they get up in the morning. Every notification, every attachment and every meeting request we try to check and respond and ultimately we end up getting late for office. Checking emails frequently is the biggest reason for losing focus and getting bored with the office. So do yourself a favor, don’t even look at your phone in the morning hours. If needed, you can jot down a TODO list in your diary and can start your work after reaching office.

Rule 2. Start with trickiest task first thing in the morning: In the morning we generally have a clear and light head so our creative bones work faster. This means eat that frog first which is giving you the biggest challenge.  If during the day, you feel that you have given enough mind over something and it’s still not done, leave it for next morning. You can, of course, discuss this with your boss if the task can wait till next morning. And if he is not agreeing then you can’t delay it. Keep on breaking it. The Boss is always right (you know that)!

Rule 3. Exercise is important: This we often ignore. It’s a kind of habit which is easy to cultivate and even easier to ignore. A daily morning workout is not only good for your body, but also for your mind. It helps relieve the stress points and gives energies in return. If not much then for 10 minutes every day. Get that heart beat racing and fight the day with full power! It boosts your creativity and keeps you fit!

Rule 4: No facebook, twitter or other social media till you complete 3 hours of work: The minutes you open your eyes in the morning, you pick your phone and facebooking gets on. You fear that today might be your friend’s birthday or even your anniversary and facebook can save a lot of your blood. So you check facebook/twitter updates and your work starts right from there. While wishing everyone and commenting on political stuff, you don’t realize that you have only 30 minutes to get ready for office. So don’t get into a loop and set a deadline for yourself. Unless you get at least 3 hours (or at least 2 hours) of work in, do not even think about going near that notification! 

Rule 5: Make your TODOs the night before: Maintaining a diary is always assumed good. It’s the best way to ensure you are on track. Just spend 15 minutes every night to write down things which you are about to target next day. Be it work or other stuff like phone bill payment or calling a relative. No fumbling around then and you can get straight to business next day. 

Rule 6: Most importantly, start your day with wishing others:  Not every day ends on a happy note. We get killing emails from clients and resignation of teammates makes us go mad. But believe me, the world is not ending yet. So start your day with a smile on your face. Everyone in this world is facing his/her challenges and your smile can give someone that little extra strength to face them. So why not giving a free medicine to your office mates. 
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