A worker can be tirelessly chained to the desk without being productive. In order to get more things done in a lot less time, it can be hard to muster the discipline and stay motivated. The brain tends to procrastinate, especially with bigger projects or tasks, thus delaying productivity altogether, according to Life Hacker.
So, how does a worker manage? Here are some tips to "trick" the brain and help with productivity:
1. Make sure to breakdown and divide tasks into smaller, realistic and achievable goals. Convert year-long deadlines into weekly goals so that they are more attainable. Eventually, this will lead to achieving what is needed to be finished in the future, according to a study published in the journal Association For Psychological Science by experts from the University of Southern California.
2. Motivate yourself by doing a self-check on the status of your work. If you're veering off, you can mentally remind yourself to get back to work. If you're way ahead of schedule, you can pause and re-invigorate yourself with a short coffee break, according to Forbes.
3. Make some tasks fun by turning it into a game. Gamification at work has its share of pros and cons, but some companies have observed a marked increase in productivity when game elements have been added to the tasks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Many employees are even more inclined to volunteer for projects because of this.
4. Once in a while, it is okay to daydream on the job, as it can trigger creative ideas or insights that could be helpful when finishing a task or project. Mind-wandering is said to have "aided humans when survival depended on creative solutions," according to Nature.
5. Pictures of nature will help refresh your brain, said experts from the University of Melbourne. "It's something that a lot of us do naturally when we're stressed or mentally fatigued. There's a reason you look out the window and seek nature; it can help you concentrate on your work and to maintain performance across the workday," said Kate Lee, one of the study authors of the study via Medical News Today.
