Do you often lose focus or dreadfully watch as emails, messages, and assignments pile up? You might be overworked. Or, you might just need to tweak some things in your personal and digital workspaces to get back on track! Check out our easy tips and supercharge your productivity in no time.
Sprucing Up Your Surroundings
You presumably spend much of your working day sitting in front of a screen, meaning ergonomics should be a top priority. Spending a little extra on a comfortable chair that follows the body’s contours and enforces correct posture is absolutely worth it.
Consider investing in a standing desk as well. They’re adjustable, letting you stand for a few hours each day and sit back down when needed. If you don’t have the budget for a standing desk, ensure the one you have accommodates your monitor to be at eye level. If you use a laptop, get a stand so you don’t have to look down at its screen.
While we’re still on the subject of desks, decluttering yours should be high on the priorities list. Place items you need and use frequently within easy reach. Other useful ones can go into drawers. If you’re the handy type, you can install shelves and hooks to hold even more stuff. Be sure to put old documents and other items you may need at some point into storage rather than have them clutter your workspace.
Making a few other rearrangements can alter your mood and energy levels. Simply letting more natural light in offers several health benefits, while surrounding yourself with color can stimulate creativity or combat bad moods. Plants add variety to your workspace while also supplying oxygen and filtering the air. Don’t have a green thumb? Then get a cactus, philodendrons, aloe vera, or other easy-to-take-care-of plants.
Digital Housekeeping
After tackling your physical surroundings, it’s time to address the tools of the trade. Take stock of your hardware & identify major upgrade needs. Noise-canceling headphones are a godsend if you work from home or in an open office. While costly, a dual monitor setup can work wonders for your productivity. A new PC or laptop is even more expensive. Still, you don’t want to postpone replacing old ones for too long if slowness or frequent issues interfere with efficiency.
Some digital decluttering may also be in order. Start by organizing files and folders and sticking to a naming scheme that will make them easier to find later. Decluttering also means identifying and deleting files, emails, subscriptions, and contacts you no longer need. While you’re at it, mute notifications during working hours and consider limiting access to sites that distract you.
A world of productivity-enhancing tools is at your fingertips! They do everything from automating email categorization and social media posts to streamlining communications with team members.
Neglecting cybersecurity can have serious consequences, as cybercriminals can exploit your carelessness to access sensitive company and customer data. Regularly update the OS and software, back up your data, and use unique passwords to minimize risks.
You’ll need a VPN if you access company resources remotely. More often, this means you can bypass geo-blocked content that wouldn’t be available to you otherwise. Additionally, VPNs encrypt internet traffic, using tunneling and complex algorithms to keep data and online activity safe. Moreover, using a VPN might be necessary to comply with your employer’s data safety and policy standards.
Considerations for working from abroad
A seaside balcony might be the ultimate upgrade, but that doesn’t mean digital nomads can’t optimize their workplace further. For example, a foldable keyboard and lightweight travel mouse let you perform tasks quickly and accurately wherever you are. Portable hotspots can take care of most connectivity issues. Power banks and universal chargers ensure you always have enough juice to send over files.
Travelers who hop from one country to another should also look into using eSIM services. eSIM is more convenient than the SIM cards you’re used to since you can easily pick the best plan in each country without the need for physical replacement. In fact, you can keep your standard number and continue using it as needed while reaping the benefits a flexible service like eSIM offers.
Conclusion
A few small changes to your physical and digital workspaces can have a great impact on productivity and well-being alike. We hope you’ll try our suggestions and reap the rewards!
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