Each year, employees waste over 100 days as a result of workplace distractions – here’s what you should be doing to reduce them.

The modern workplace has a myriad different distractions, from gossiping colleagues to excessive emails, not to mention the lure of social media and Smartphones.

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When employees do finally manage to get their heads down to work, there’s also no guarantee that they will be particularly productive.

From poor time management to trying to do too many things at once, or not taking proper breaks, there are numerous mistakes people make that result in poorer performance.

Here are seven ways to boost personal productivity at work:

1. Understand Your Natural Rhythms

We all have different levels of energy at different times of the day. Some of us are at our most efficient in the mornings, while others work better towards the end of the day. Plan your day based on your body’s timetable. Do important tasks when your energy is highest and save easier, routine things for when your energy is usually at its lowest.

2. Introduce Routines

The human brain is adept at identifying and working with patterns. Setting up routines around how you approach regular tasks can increase how efficiently and productively you do them. Create routines for dealing with emails or physical documents and set up standard ways to start new projects, hold meetings or delegate tasks.

3- Stop Multitasking

The brain is actually very bad at multi-tasking or switching quickly between tasks. Doing so means that nothing gets 100% of your attention and you will be more likely to forget things. Stick to focusing on one task at a time.

4. Do Similar Tasks Together

Your brain learns and deals well with complex tasks through repetition. You can make the most of this trait by planning to do similar tasks in one go. Make all your phone calls or draft and send all your emails in one session to be as quick and efficient as possible.

5. Create An Easy Task-List

Have a list of easy to do tasks for when your energy is low or when you don’t want to start something major. From sorting documents to printing, this list will ensure you’re productive even when you can’t concentrate and it’ll also help give you the momentum to move on to bigger tasks.

6. Take A Break

Many tasks such as writing or organizing complex projects require considerable mental effort. Your brain is only able to maintain focus for a short period of time. To remain productive and energized, it’s crucial to take a break to let your brain relax.

7. Track Yourself

Recording your actions, thoughts, conversations and activities will help you to understand how much you’re getting done, where your time is being spent and how much is being wasted.

How To Understand Your Productivity

One of the best ways to keep track of both individual and group productivity is to use software for measuring employee productivity.

Such software will track the amount of time employees spend on specific software and websites and work out how much of that time is being spent productively based on their activities.

Do You Measure Your Own Productivity?

Are you tracking how many hours you are working instead of goofing around? If so, what tool or tools do you use? Tell us in the comments section below!