Improving work efficiency is something that all employees are looking to achieve. Those who can work from home or remotely from anywhere will welcome any boosts to their productivity as it allows them to sustain the current arrangement and show that they are more productive than in the office.
A great many employees are determined never to have to return to an office environment full-time after experiencing the freedom and work-life balance that being able to work fully remotely gives to them. Being able to show increased productivity is a large part of how they justify this going forward when there is pressure from management to move work teams back to the office.
With this in mind, let's look at how best to improve work efficiency. There are some very easy steps that we can take that can actually unlock huge improvements in the way we work and the amount that we can get done in the time that we have. Most of these involve improving our working environment so that we can perform at our best level.
Three Ideas to Improve Work Efficiency
Use a Standing Desk
A height-adjustable desk or standing desk as they are sometimes called is a desk that can be set at variable heights and can be used standing up, as the name suggests. This means that you can maintain a more comfortable posture than the hunching over a keyboard that is often seen in homes and offices around the country.
There are major health benefits to this and one of them is that you will feel more alert and energised due to the increased blood flow that is happening because you are standing straight and you are forcing your heart to pump blood all the way to your toes and back. This will allow for much better productivity and help you to prove that you can turn in excellent results, wherever you are working.
Because these desks are adjustable, they can also be used sitting down. The recommendation is that you only spend between 70-80% of your working day standing and the rest sitting down, which brings us to the next idea for improving efficiency.
Invest in an Ergonomic Chair
If we spent as large a portion of our lives doing anything else as we do working, we would ensure that we had the most comfortable equipment that would make sure that we weren't hurting ourselves and contorting our bodies out of their natural shape. We wouldn't give it a second thought if it meant that our comfort and health were assured.
Despite this, when it comes to work, some people will complain about the price of ergonomic chairs. You spend perhaps 8 hours a day in them, it is important that your office chair is up to the challenge of ensuring that you are sitting in a way that doesn't damage your health in the longer-term.
It is also amazing how much focus can be taken away from tasks just by being uncomfortable, or by having a nagging back pain that won't go away. Ensuring that you are seated comfortably and ergonomically is one of the easiest but at the same time most important changes that you can make that will increase your productivity and output when working.
Gaming chairs are considered to be better than standard office chairs but a good ergonomic chair is better still. Gaming chairs are designed to offer support for a relatively limited time period, whereas ergonomic chairs offer better lumbar support and are designed to be used throughout the working day. Even though some people swear by gaming chairs, for a long working day, a proper ergonomic office chair is the way to go.
Stick to a Routine
One of the hardest things to do when working from home is to get into a reliable routine. If you can do that, you should be able to smash any of your work productivity goals. If you need to be at your desk at a certain time, try getting up for work as normal, getting dressed and then going for a walk around the block before you are due to start work.
The fresh air and the endorphins from walking will stand you in good stead for the early part of your working day but mentally, it will feel like you have "walked to work" and will help you to separate the working day from the rest of your life. If your mindset is that when you walk into the house, it is time to start working, you should be able to get off to an incredibly productive start to the day, which will then make the rest of the day easier.
If you can do this on a regular basis you will soon notice the productivity bump that you are getting from it adding up, and so will your bosses. It is definitely something that is worth considering as an option when it comes to improving productivity, along with the other methods mentioned above.
