{"id":364,"date":"2021-04-11T18:07:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-11T18:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/?p=364"},"modified":"2021-11-12T08:16:26","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T08:16:26","slug":"productivity-and-effectiveness-technology-and-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/productivity-and-effectiveness-technology-and-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"Productivity and effectiveness: technology and techniques"},"content":{"rendered":"

In our March blog<\/a> we reflected on the reality of working from home and the impact this has on our ability to be as effective as possible.\u00a0 In the 24\/7 switched on world we live in, it can quickly become overwhelming to start each day without a clear idea of what you need to be on top of. And it\u2019s equally as deflating to end it feeling like you haven\u2019t achieved what you needed to.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve mastered how to look more critically at what\u2019s important to deliver each day, the next step is to understanding the techniques to help you flourish in actually getting things done.<\/p>\n

Your physical space<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your workspace and immediate environment are super-important when it comes to productivity.\u00a0 Even though you might now have adapted to working from home, you\u2019re likely to still be surrounded by daily distractions.\u00a0 From family or pets demanding attention through to household chores and even social media, there are always plenty of things that can draw your attention away from work.<\/p>\n

As much as is possible, create a space that supports you to have the minimum number of distractions.\u00a0 By defining a workspace, it allows you to create boundaries, even if only mentally, between work and home, which is as important for your mental health as it is for your productivity.<\/p>\n

There are some great space saving solutions available for home working, as outlined here by Ideal Home<\/a>, and if you have outdoor space then you could think about converting a shed or even buying something more purpose built.\u00a0 According to a recent BBC news story<\/a>, there has been a 300% jump in demand for garden structures that can double for a home office.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the space you manage to carve out, make sure you have a setup that supports your physical wellbeing and that you undertake regular health and safety assessments.<\/p>\n

When the end of your working day arrives, be sure to switch off in every sense.\u00a0 Try and cover your workspace, pack things away or close the door to your home office.\u00a0 Stand up and walk away to signal to yourself that you\u2019re no longer in work-mode.<\/p>\n

Using technology to support productivity<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as using your environment to support your productivity, there\u2019s been a lot of research about mindset and how to get into a productive state.<\/p>\n

Getting \u2018into the zone\u2019 is an actual thing; it\u2019s part of what\u2019s known as the \u2018flow theory\u2019<\/a>.\u00a0 This theory is based in psychology and is defined as, \u201cA state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is when you are in this space that you will be at your most productive.\u00a0 There is a sense of timelessness with tasks feeling easier and things just \u2018coming together\u2019.<\/p>\n

There are techniques available that can help you achieve this state to dial up your effectiveness and even apps to help you focus.\u00a0 The Pomodoro Technique<\/a>, for example, helps you break time down into more manageable chunks of focus, whilst the Brain FM<\/a> app plays timed segments of music to help productivity which you can increase depending on the focus you can achieve.<\/p>\n

In essence, all of these techniques and apps are designed to help you understand your own optimum productivity threshold to allow you to plan accordingly and design your working day around when you know you will achieve the most.\u00a0 It\u2019s well documented that the brain\u2019s ability to retain new information diminishes after around 25-30 minutes so it makes sense to plan to this rather than let it work against you.<\/p>\n

By understanding your own personal blueprint for a productive state alongside making the best of your working environment and planning your workload effectively, you can take control of your effectiveness and ensure every day delivers success.<\/p>\n

Cube Learning & Development delivers bespoke personal effectiveness training courses<\/a> for companies across the UK online and in person. For a no-obligation chat about this and our other training, call Chris Burton on 07879 602002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our March blog we reflected on the reality of working from home and the impact this has on our ability to be as effective as possible.\u00a0 In the 24\/7 switched on world we live in, it can quickly become overwhelming to start each day without a clear idea of what you need to be on top of. And it\u2019s equally as deflating to end it feeling like you haven\u2019t achieved what you needed to. Once you\u2019ve mastered how to look more critically at what\u2019s important to deliver each day, [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[56,54,48,55],"class_list":["post-364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-productivity","tag-effectiveness","tag-productivity","tag-return-to-work","tag-working-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":365,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364\/revisions\/365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cube-ld.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}