The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and you’re likely daydreaming that you’re at the beach or on a boat…or anywhere but your desk, really. It’s normal to get into a summer slump, but you shouldn’t let it affect your work efficiency too much.
If you’re struggling to stay focused, here are four tips to help you boost your productivity at work this summer:
Plan your day
This one’s huge. If you spend just 10 minutes in the morning planning out your day, you’ll be able to see very clearly what needs to get done. Put a little star next to the tasks that absolutely have to get done and then schedule your day accordingly.
Shift your priorities as needed
If you can’t get approval on a project or idea because your boss or co-worker is out of town, push that project aside for now. Take advantage of people being out of the office by focusing on projects that require more in-depth thinking. That way you’ll be ahead when the office starts to get hectic again.
Minimize distractions
This one’s self-explanatory, but it still needs to be said. If you’re working from a computer (as most people do), it’s easy to get distracted by social media and other sites. But please, if you want to be productive, resist the temptation!
If you really can’t say no, try downloading an anti-distraction app. (Yes, those are a thing.) SelfControl is one of the most popular ones. It’s a free Mac application that let’s you block specific websites for up to 24 hours. Check it out here.
Be proactive
If you’re being unproductive simply because things around the office are slow, use that time to get a jump start on upcoming projects. Or if there are two or three projects on your to-do list that you just can’t ever get around to (like cleaning out your email or clearing up your desktop), use this time to knock them all out. You’ll thank yourself later.
