Someone is flying to Turkey tomorrow, but you have to endure another month or even until the fall? The psychologist’s tips for staying productive at work and at home will help.
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What to do if it becomes more and more difficult to work, and the strain is simply unbearable?
It is high time to remember the old joke, when a man, in answer to the question about how he relaxes, says – and I do not strain. Very often students answer questions just like this, “Why should I edit my paper when I can just pay a professional to do everything for me?” Our daily stress is further increased when we create additional stressful situations for ourselves. But in order to focus on work, we need to make time for that focus itself. It sounds strange, but nonetheless – it’s important to put everything aside and fixate only on what’s to be done now.
For example, in an American institute, they even teach people to concentrate: the only task of the students there is to design their lives. So it is useful for you, too, to analyze your actions. Don’t do anything in a hurry, keep track of cause-and-effect connections. This will make the work easier, help with concentration – learn to create space for reflection and concentration. Then a picture emerges in your head and action goes like clockwork.
Anything that distracts – remove it. Sometimes 15 minutes of productive work without distractions is more productive than an hour of shifting papers from place to place if you are constantly distracted.
But even a favorite activity tires you out, and at work, you don’t always have to do exactly what you love and inspire. That’s why it’s important to learn to know when you’re tired.
And how do you know when it’s time to stop and take a break?
If we force ourselves and try to “finish” the work, and the forces are no longer there, then we are waiting for disappointment. Assess your condition – have you forgotten to send the file to the post? For the fifth time you remember that you have not responded to an important email? Irritation from this has grown to a headache? You are tired, you need a break. Planning or prioritizing will also help you save time and be less tired. You can even make a schedule of when to answer emails, when to access social networks, and when to drink tea: this will improve productivity.
And it’s also a great distraction from your own problems and fatigue to take care of others. If you don’t have the energy to care for someone, you can buy a flower or plant a seed. Caring and starting a new life, even a small plant, gives us a resource and a sense of joy – it is great prevention of our fatigue.
Less fatigue and full rest are also needed at home, do not forget that the weekend is a time for rest, family, hobbies.
And how to use the weekend and free time for maximum relaxation?
Tips are very banal – divide all your time for work and leisure. When you relax, for example, in the evening with his family or on a weekend – do not work at all, do not even think about work. Tell your family how things are at work – and then try to divert your attention. Because it is a productive vacation helps you then at work to do much more.
Be active physically – it gives us endorphins and other hormones of happiness, helps to switch from one activity to another. For example, do not lie all day watching soap operas, find time for a walk, go on a picnic, go to the movies, if you still do not have a hobby, then it’s time to think about what you like and implement the idea.
Find priorities both at work and at home. For example, just keep clean, and general cleaning, which will require a lot of strength and energy, will hold after returning from vacation.
And if really quite unbearable, then maybe break away somewhere for a couple of days now?
It’s really a good idea, because both large and small vacations are important and useful to us. A mini-vacation for two days is just what a tired person needs, especially living in a big city. Try taking a little vacation without a vacation. Think back to what you usually enjoy: we need a change of scenery, especially now with the quarantine.
Even a trip to the park or woods out of town will help you relax and work much better from Monday.
Try what you can do: rent a hotel in the suburbs, go to your grandmother’s in the country or in the woods with tents, go to a neighboring town if it’s not far and go to museums there. While doing so, go on the Internet less, and then compare your well-being and performance in the new work week. You’ll see, they’ll improve.
Okay, but before vacation your bosses usually load you up, so how do you save your energy?
It happens that the management immediately voiced all the amount of work that you must necessarily do, but without voicing the deadlines. Clarify whether it is possible to do it after the vacation. Also, do not be afraid to ask for help from your colleagues, sometimes we do not even realize that we are ready to help and are afraid to ask for it.
Sometimes we need more time to complete tasks that a colleague can do in minutes. For example, you can’t beat a copy machine or an Excel spreadsheet, but your colleague hates putting reports in folders. Agree that you will help each other or “cover” for each other during each other’s vacation.
