Who hasn’t experienced this? You start your working day highly motivated and full of energy. But your concentration leaves a lot to be desired. And you’re even working longer than usual today. But just because we work longer doesn’t mean we’re more productive. After a long day at work, have you ever wondered how many hours you actually worked productively? Most of the time, out of an average of eight working hours, we are only 100% focused for four to five hours. But it’s not just employers who are pleased when tasks are completed productively; employees’ moods also rise when they can go home on time, knowing that they have completed the entire workload. But how can you really increase productivity in the workplace? We tried it out and summarized our 3 favorite tricks for you.

1. the office design

The design of the workplace, whether home office, or office, contributes significantly to productivity. This is because a well-designed office can increase concentration by up to 20%. According to studies, the physical environment of employees is even the most important factor for the ability to concentrate. Lighting and noise levels are particularly important. Poor lighting can lead to fatigue, eyestrain, headaches and general irritability. Daylight works best, which is why it’s a good idea to place your desk by a window. But even if you like to work late in the evening or early in the morning, or your office has no windows, you can influence your lighting. For example, a daylight lamp and bright, warm wall colors are suitable for this. For particularly concentrated work phases, the noise level in the work environment should not vary too much. And in order not to be distracted, “in ear” headphones, which function similarly to earplugs, are helpful. If you are more the type to work with even background noise, you can listen to Coffeehouse Sounds on your music streaming service. If you need complete silence, concentration-boosting sounds like white noise will help.

Another design hack that’s easy to implement is plants in your office. They have been scientifically proven to improve indoor air quality and increase our productivity. They also boost our health and help create a more positive mindset. So bring on the green friends. If you don’t have a green thumb, you can try small windowsill plants first and then slowly work your way up to larger plants. You can find especially low-maintenance plants here.

2. organization

It’s no longer a secret that the right organization at the workplace helps productivity. But that’s easier said than done, isn’t it? If you have a lot of ideas in your head, you should first collect your thoughts on a whiteboard. Of course, this is also available online for home offices or small offices. Once your head is clear, it’s much easier to create the familiar to-do lists. And yes, this is no longer a novelty. But beware, we have made the experience that to-do lists and one’s own way of keeping them should always be critically questioned. Because often enough we tend to just write everything down and intuitively classify it as important. Does every task really deserve to be on your to-do list or prioritized? Critically review long-term to-do lists on a regular basis and honestly ask yourself why a task hasn’t been done in weeks? Is it just inconvenient and should finally be done? Then it should be given a higher priority on the list. Or is it simply not important enough for you and can be crossed off with a clear conscience? Clear deadlines and time buffers are also helpful. Then you don’t have to postpone annoying tasks forever.

3. use productivity methods

Routines and habits support and relieve our concentration. Various methods help us to stay concentrated and to focus on the essentials. In order not to lose the overview with the multitude of methods, here are our top 2:

• The Eisenhower method – This is about categorizing tasks in order to prioritize them and work through them accordingly:
  – A-tasks, which are very important and very urgent, should be done immediately by yourself.
  – For B-tasks, which are important but not urgent, you should find a date in the near future.
  – C-tasks, which are urgent but not important, can be delegated to employees. This way they will be completed in a timely manner and you will still have capacity for A-tasks.
  – D-tasks are neither urgent nor important and can therefore simply be ignored.
• The Pareto principle (the “80/20” rule) – states in relation to your own productivity that often 80 percent of the results are achieved in only 20 percent of the time invested, while the remaining 20 percent of the tasks take 80 percent of the time.
  The solution to this is a well thought-out prioritization. The idea is to identify the 80Percent of tasks that can be completed quickly. It is important not to get lost in the details just because there is a feeling that you might otherwise have invested too little time in a task. At the same time, ask yourself which 20 percent of tasks take up such a large percentage of your time, why that is, and answer honestly whether the result is worth that effort.

Do you have any further questions, or are you looking for an exciting job in the IT sector? Then get in touch with us. We will be happy to advise you!