Schedule breaks. It’s important to take regular breaks during the day to stretch your legs and recharge your mental batteries. Just make sure breaks have defined times to begin and end. If you are the type who cannot bring yourself to put down your smartphone for 15 minutes (as I am) take a quick five minute break every hour to keep yourself awake and fresh. My preferred break is a trip to the water cooler on the next floor down, necessitating climbing a short flight of stairs to get the blood flowing again.
Decorate right. Research shows that white walls are a productivity killer. Paint your office in an appealing color, like a shade of blue or green, to spark creativity and innovation, or add in a few plants or art pieces. Feeling “at home” in your space will help keep you relaxed in stressful times.
Encourage accountability. It’s all too common for a day’s to-do list to go unfinished. Some businesses have started asking employees to write their main goals for the day on a whiteboard, or on a shared document.
Cluster productivity. If an employee is having a tough time staying focused, temporarily relocate them to work near a particularly productive employee. Productivity is contagious. If you are personally struggling to stay focused, try scheduling your most difficult tasks for the time of day you feel most productive. Leave your housekeeping or busywork tasks for the times of day when you don’t feel at the top of your game. If you know your yourself and how you perform best you can take advantage of your natural “highs and lows” to keep being productive any time.