It’s all well and good to seek out strategies for boosting productivity, but if you and your team are working from a stressful foundation, every effort you make will quickly fall flat. Instead, you may want to go back to the basics, starting with mindfulness at work. 

You need to decrease the stress to increase the productivity, and you can achieve this with ease if you follow these five helpful tips: 

1. Have Your Team Go Wild For Wellbeing

If your team is lacking in productivity because they’re fried from working so hard, it’s time for you to cultivate a culture of wellbeing and togetherness. Introduce team culture training, diversity and inclusion policies, health initiatives, and a general awareness of the environment you’re offering to your valued team. 

These wholesome basics tend to inspire happier employees who are more satisfied and loyal because they work in such an incredibly nurturing environment. When people know they’re more than just a cog in the machine, they tend to bring their A-game to work. In turn, you’ll enjoy higher rates of productivity and morale across the team, as well as more innovation, creativity, and collaboration. 

2. Prioritize Rest

A lack of rest can cause you to struggle with productivity in a significant way. Science tells us that sleep deprivation and even just inadequate breaks can cause all kinds of issues with performance. If left unchecked, this can lead to problems focusing and generating new ideas. 

Get more sleep, take appropriate breaks, and you’ll feel less stressed, more refreshed, and more productive. At work, you’ll want to encourage your whole team to take breaks when needed. There are no special prizes for “soldiering on” when you need rest. At home, keep your bedroom cool, leave blue light technology at the door, and try to stay in a routine. The benefits you get in return will be well worth the effort. 

3. Exercise Your Way To Good Vibes

Exercise that raises your heart rate – like running, aerobics and walking swiftly – releases endorphins, your brain’s natural feel-good hormones. Exercise also helps you feel better because it reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

As if getting your heart beating a little faster wasn’t beneficial enough, regular exercise is also able to give you more energy, happiness, and efficiency long-term. Time to dust those running shoes off!

4. Work Flexibly

Over 80% of people work flexibly or would love to, and over 90% of people out of work would love a flexible job. It’s a great idea if you want to be less stressed and more productive, too. Flexible schedules allow you to balance life and work, capitalize on your most productive hours, and create a distraction-free home office for maximum productivity. 

5. Love Yourself

Around 90% of 18-24 year olds report being stressed because of their careers. The more stressed about your career you get, the more likely you are to make mistakes and potentially even start to burn out. When you love yourself first, you become your own top priority, and this mindful approach can do wonders for your career. 

You realize you’re someone worth feeding well, worth giving a holiday, worth putting in an ergonomic working environment, and worth valuing in general. Learning to love yourself is the root of all things that are great for you and your career. Be your own best advocate. 

It’s time to stress less and get more done with the tips above! Rest and move more, work in a nurturing environment (ideally flexibly), and most importantly – love yourself. Treat yourself like the relaxed and highly productive winner you are.

Image: Matt Ragland / Unsplash