Boost Your Productivity in Just 15 Minutes

yogaWe’ve all been there, working on a difficult project where everything seems to take so much longer.  Or a Monday morning when our minds are just moving a little slower.  What you really need is something to help kick start your energy.

Here are some quick things you can do in 15 minutes or less to make you more productive and help you get motivated:

10-Minute Yoga –  Exercise is a great way to stay healthy, reduce anxiety and  elevate your happy hormones.

Listen to Music – According to a recent study listening to music for 15 minutes can not only helps to improve your mood, but it also increases your creative problem solving abilities and task performance. So next time you need to brainstorm ideas – plug in your headphones and put on some of your favorite tunes!

Add a plant to your desk – Plants can help to liven up an otherwise dull office, and studies show that productivity can increase by up to 15% when plants are introduced into the workplace. This is most likely due to the perception of improved well-being. As well as the calming effect that plants and greenery naturally have on humans.

Go for a Walk – Like yoga, walking can help to boost creativity and mood, but an article in The New Yorker claims it goes beyond that. Writing and walking use similar parts of our brain. When we walk, we are surveying the world around us and constructing a mental map. This mental exercise can help us to organize our thoughts and come up with a plan of action.

Sniff a Lemon – It’s true — Scent Psychology finds the scent of lemon sends your concentration and energy skyrocketing.  It can also calm you down without making you less alert. So start using all those senses to get stuff done. 

What are some of your quick tips for boosting productivity?

Go on a ‘Fake-ation’ and Get More Done

vacationThe week before you go on vacation is filled with excitement, tension and anxiety as you rush to get all your work done before you go. For some, that last-minute panic is the only thing that can inspire them to get completely caught up on your work. So why not use the “vacation feeling” to get more done? If you want to catch up on your back log at work just act like you’re going on vacation so you can stay laser focused.

Here are some ideas to get you going:

Clean up & Close up – Make a list of everything you need to get done. Think about all the odd jobs you haven’t gotten around to finishing. If you know there’s something you’ve been putting it off, best to get it over and done with and then you really can relax over the weekend. Read more

5 Tricks For an Easier Morning

sleepingI believe that there’s a lot of truth to the saying “The early bird always catches the worm.” Every morning I wake up at 6:05am, hours before I need to be at work. It’s gives me a chance to relax, do yoga, read the newspaper, check email and eat breakfast before work so I feel accomplished before even getting to the office.

However, I know waking up early isn’t easy, and it’s very tempting to lay in bed until the last minute. So I’ve got some tips for you on how to get up early and get more done.

1. Try an alarm clock app – There’s an app called Walk Up that makes you walk a certain number of steps before the alarm will shut off.  It can’t be fooled either — so you better get up and take those steps!  FreakyAlarm will make you take photos of specific objects or even do mind-testing exercises before it will shut off it’s annoying alarm sounds.  Talk about hitting the ground running!  Read more