Try These Productivity Boosters to Reduce Stress

When you need to reduce stress on the job, it might seem natural to slow down and take time for yourself. When you're facing a mountain of responsibilities, however, a more effective solution is to speed up. By finding ways to increase productivity, you can eliminate wasted time, shrink your workload, lower pressure and keep your superiors happy.

Ditch Digital Distractions

The modern workplace is full of distractions, from buzzing text alerts to bright red message notifications. Each of these small interruptions can break your concentration, causing you to expend additional mental energy to get back on track. To increase productivity, start by cutting out distractions. Choose a designated time to check phone and email messages. Use productivity programs, such as Freedom or Cold Turkey, to reduce the amount of time you spend on blogs and social media. Each one enables you to set a timer and enter the URLs of distracting websites. Until time is up, you cannot open the specified sites.

Manage Stray Thoughts

When you're managing multiple projects at once, it can be difficult to focus on a single task without thinking about other responsibilities. Instead of switching rapidly from task to task as new ideas develop, take steps to manage your thought process. Keep a piece of paper and a pen next to your work area. As each thought or idea comes up, write it down quickly without engaging mentally, and immediately go back to the task at hand. Later, look over your list and decide how to take action on each item. This method helps clear your head, so it's easier to focus and increase productivity.

Identify Filler Tasks

Keep a running list of small tasks that are important but not high priority, such as responding to information requests, watering office plants or filing non-urgent documents. Post the list near your desk, or save it in a list app on your phone. During short bursts of free time between meetings, complete one or two items on the list. This process helps you increase productivity, even when you don't have time to tackle big projects. It also helps you manage administrative and maintenance tasks without stress.

Ask for Help

Although you may want to be a professional superhero, one person can only do so much. If your workload is so big that it's creating bottlenecks for you or other team members, it's time to ask for help. Go through your to-do list and identify the tasks that require your specific expertise. Then, find ways to offload all other tasks. Give some work to an administrative assistant, delegate work to another team member or ask your boss to assign a project to someone else. Although it can be difficult to relinquish control, creating a more manageable task list is a surefire way to increase productivity and reduce stress.

Stress and productivity are inextricably linked, particularly in a professional setting. By finding ways to increase productivity, you can automatically lower stress and create a happier work environment.

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