How to beat the Monday blues and boost your productivity.

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After a weekend full of relaxation, Monday’s can leave even the most industrious souls feeling lethargic and unengaged. Even if you’re someone who rises at the crack of dawn, it can be difficult to get motivated and back into work. So here are 5 easy tips to boost your productivity and get you back on track.

1. Do your most important tasks when you are most productive

Productivity is directly associated with your energy levels. Do your most important tasks at times when you are most productive. If you’re a bright eyed morning person get those important tasks completed in the morning. If you’re someone who is most productive after a fulfilling meal, save those important tasks until after lunch and spend your morning with more menial tasks.

2. Block out distractions

Social media is one of the biggest outlets for procrastination and culprits for reducing productivity. Quickly scrolling through your social media accounts may seem harmless but I think it would surprise most of us just how much time we are spending on social media. According to a study by influencer marketing agency Mediakix the average person will spend more than five years of their life on social media. Mediakix determined that the averaged time spent per day on Facebook was (35 minutes), Instagram (15), Snapchat (25), Twitter (one) and YouTube (40).

In order to cut down on social media distractions and be more productive you could;

Switch off pop up notifications on your phone and your laptop.
Install RescueTime, an app that runs in the background and tracks the time you spend on websites and apps.
If RescueTime provides a reality check and you realise you need to seriously cut down on your social media usage, use apps such as SelfControl that prevent you from browsing these sites.

3. Sit up straight

Sitting up straight may seem like the most mundane advice but actually it’s incredibly important. Slouching or hunching over a computer pushes your diaphragm against your lungs, which reduces your ability to take full breaths. This hinders your oxygen intake, in turn impacting your ability to concentrate.

Some easy ways to remember to fix this are:

Set alarms reminding you to get up and walk about during the day.
Invest in a standing desk.

4. Divide up your tasks

Dividing all your work up into smaller chunks will make it seem more achievable. This should reduce feeling overwhelmed. Make a checklist of all these smaller tasks and tick them off as you go. This will make the overall task seem less daunting whilst also giving you a sense of accomplishment.

5. Have walking meetings

Walking meetings give you the opportunity to get out of the office and become invigorated by fresh air and new surroundings. Walking meetings are also correlated with an increase in creativity. Finally they are a more relaxed environment, which can break down the barriers between coworkers. Better engagement leads to better productivity!

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