10 Tips to remain productive: Don’t miss the final one

No interest in work anymore. Utterly lazy. No motivation to continue at all! Have you felt this way? If yes, you are in the right place. Here are a few tips to help you remain productive for long. 

Note: You can’t become productive overnight. You must be willing to persevere no matter how demotivating your work is.

1. Be reasonable: when you make your to-do list, you must be pretty reasonable. If you ask yourself to climb Mount Everest tonight, you know you cannot. Be kind to yourself.

2. Challenge yourself: When setting your targets for the day, do not underestimate yourself. Give yourself some challenging level of work. If you don’t, you are making yourself lazy.

3. Divide larger tasks into smaller bits: When you have a complex task, go step by step. Evaluate yourself by the steps you complete- not by the completion of the entire task. It’s like eating. You can’t eat a burger at one go. You need to take small bites and enjoy every bit if you want to get good results.

4. Focus: When you are doing a simple task, focus on that task. Do not overthink about your progress. Do not worry about the overall task. In short, be in the moment. That is the shortcut to happiness.

5. Schedule your time: If you know you are productive in the mornings, give yourself the most challenging tasks in the morning. This way, you are optimizing your productivity.

6. Note your ways: It is a good habit to note down how you react to stress and pressure. You can refer to your notes the next time you face stress, and ask yourself not to fall prey to illusions. This will help you to remain productive and focused.

7. Give yourself some time, some love: Nobody can work all the time. When the clock strikes the end, STOP working and leave your desk. You need to relax. Your body requires rest. Your mind requires recreation. Your family needs you. You need to love yourself.

8. Screen time: When you are away from your desk, are you on your phone or TV? That’s not effective. Screen time should not invade your personal space. Use your phone’s timers to limit your screen time to say, 60 minutes a day (that may be a lot for you).

9. Organize yourself: This is important. You need to plan your time. Set some days off of your work. Go for a ride. Have a romantic dinner. Rest.

10. Self-appreciation: Every weekend, appreciate yourself for the forbearance, dedication and hard work you put in to your work and family. If you feel you have not been efficient, challenge yourself.

In short, you need to be kind to yourself. Productivity comes when your body and mind are at peace. If you don’t relax, you can’t be productive. Have fulfilling relationships. Eat well, rest well and sleep well. Things will fall in place.

Desk Exercises for WFH

Feel tired and exhausted from working at your desk everyday at home? Well, there is a solution. You can practice these exercises which can strengthen your body while sitting at your desk. These are designed specifically for you if you have a 9-5 desk job which became 9-midnight due to WFH!

Here are our best suggestions. 

• Neck-Stretch - First, rotate your neck from side to side, forward and backward. Then, look left and right. Take care not to roll your neck, which is not good for the joints in the neck.Voila- your neck is no more stiff!
  
• Wrist-Roll- Roll your wrists clockwise and counterclockwise every once in a while. This increases flexibility and increases blood circulation.
• Ankle-Roll: Roll your ankles clockwise and conterclockwise evey once in a while to increase blood circulation and flexibility. 
• Shoulder-Roll: Roll your shoulders clockwise and counterclockwise every once in a while.
• Compress-Release: Tighten and release your abdominal muscles. You need to hold for a few seconds and then release. 
• Chest out: Hold your fists, push your elbows to your chair's back rest, and stretch your chest outwards. Hold your breath for 2-5 seconds and release. Repeat a few times. This increases blood circulation.
• Face crunch: Make the ugliest face you can by tightening every muscle on your face. Let your face vibrate and shake with tension. Hold for a few seconds and release. 
  
• Compress-Release: Tighten and release your buttocks as tightly as possible Hold and then release.
• Extend 'em: Hold your hands up and stretch them as far as possible while holding your breath and tightening as many muscles as possible on your body.
• Foot Raises:Raise your feet one by one a few inches from the ground and slowly set them back on the floor. Your thighs and hip must feel the stretch. Repeat a few times.
• Look out: If you are lucky to have a window by your desk, and you happen to have green foliage outside, do look out every half an hour. It will relax your eyes, and increase concentration.
• Drink up: Every 15-20 minutes, take a sip or two from your water bottle. Notice that tea/coffee wouldn't work. You need to hydrate yourself. You might need to go to the loo a few extra times, but that's better than a headache by evening, right?
• Straighten your back: Awareness is the key here. Straighten your back everytime you become aware that your back is not straight. Right, it may take some time, but you will get it right.