These foolproof office fit out design tricks can help you power through the day.
How many times have you looked at your phone or calendar and wished there was even another 10 minutes in the day so you could bang out one last task on your to-do list?
Yeah, a million times. We’ve all fallen victim to the task-irrelevant interruptions, the 3 p.m. slump, the hours wasted on trying to find the solitary office stapler. Basically, you’re trying to max your time but things keep stopping you. Even the tiniest distraction can kill off hours in your day.
Luckily, there are some things you can do to stop yourself from getting sidetracked. Head down and focus, here are five of them.
1. Create a tech-free zone
When you get another email or a Slack ping do you (a) swear loudly and ignore it or (b) deal with it in 10 minutes flat? Ideally, you should be choosing option B. If you put emails off, you end up with an inbox as long as the freakin’ Nile and it takes longer to deal with them in the long run. Plus, getting easy emails out of the way leaves more time for you to answer the ones that really need attention.
An even better option is schedule “email time” and ping out all those pesky responses in one go. The opposite of “email time” is “email-free time” when you should be unplugging the tech and refraining from checking your inbox at all. If that’s too hard – it’s so hard! – check out office fit out companies in London who can design a dedicated tech-free zone for quiet work and focused contemplation. Bliss!
2. Sit up taller
Unless you’re a dancer or a soldier, you probably haven’t given much thought to your posture. But slumping can make you feel bogged down, whereas sitting up taller – literally, on a high backed chair – can boost your confidence and energy levels. Translation: you’ll glide right through the post-lunch slump and get a lot more done.
Since the body was not designed to hunch over a laptop for long periods, be sure to incorporate some standing workstations, scribble walls and other ergonomic features into your office fit out design. We promise you’ll be ready to handle the toughest to-dos.
3. Work for 52 minutes, break for 17
If your brain were an athlete, it would be Usain Bolt – running like the wind for the first hundred metres and then starting to flag and slow down (Bolt famously has never run a mile). You want to keep your brain running at 40 km/hr? You have to give yourself a break.
According to the folk in lab coats with lots of letters after their names, there’s a perfect length for a break – and it’s 17 minutes taken every 52 minutes throughout the day. It has to be a proper, rejuvenating break, though. Looking at cute pictures of kittens rolling helplessly in balls of yarn is adorable and all, but you really need to abandon your desk during your break period. Walk, chat, play a round of mini golf – you’ll soon be back in your groove.
4. Cut the interruptions
Phone calls, water cooler conversations, the boss stopping by for a catch up just as you’ve hit your stride – interruptions at the wrong moment can completely derail you. Some days it feels like everyone needs a piece of you. It’s exhausting.
The usual advice is to protect your time by letting everyone know that you don’t want to be interrupted at certain points during the day. Whoever said that clearly has never worked in an office! Seriously, do you want to be the one saying “no” to the boss (and keeping your job)?
We have a better tactic: hide. Hide in an office, hide in a quiet pod, hide behind glass screen or noise-cancelling headphones – canny office fit out companies in London can create a palette of places that send a do-not-disturb signal and let others know that you’re focused on getting real work done.
5. Crack open the snacks (every boss should do this)
Who doesn’t enjoy work when the boss is handing out goodies? Noshing on a buffet of chocolate, fruit and other snacks creates a “happiness shock” according to researchers at the University of Warwick. They found that chocolate-munching people were 10 to 12 percent more productive than those who didn’t have access to treats. Fun fact: in one survey, 56 percent of employees said they were “extremely” or “very” happy with current job. That number jumped to 67 percent among those who had access to free food!
So the next time you could use a pick-me-up, indulge in some delicious food (and design a lovely kitchen/ bar/ snack area to prepare it all in). Then savour, smile … and get your bootie back to work!
If you are shortlisting office fit out companies in London, we would love to talk. We can partner together to create an awesome design for your office that’s going to fit the way you work, that’s going to feel authentic, and is really going to set you up for success this year. Contact one of our team today!
