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Back in March, I finished my blog on wellbeing at work and performance saying there was some urgency in implementing into companies strategies that encourage all employees to learn how to manage our energy so that we are at our best when we need it most. I also gave you just a few ideas to get you started on the way.
How many have you tried? How many have you shared or put in place in the workplace? I was talking to a thriving business owner the other day and she was telling me “all this is well and good Florence but how do you do it practically, what does it look like in the real world? I do not have time to put anything else into place in my life, it is too full as it is!”
That’s where the good news is, performance techniques do not take more of your time, if you actually put them in place, they will save you some and give you more energy while you are at it.
So, to answer her question, I thought I would give you a few simple practical ideas to take your performance and the performance of your team to the next level:
- Switch off for a few minutes at the very least every two hours: for a few seconds, close your eyes, unclench your jaw, let your shoulders drop and breathe out loudly.
- Take a break BEFORE you are tired!
- Slow down, speed is does not always mean efficiency but can lead to major mistakes.
- Waiting = compulsory relaxation time.
- Switch off in the evening: turn off all electronic devices at least 1/2 hour before going to bed and go to bed as soon as you feel tired.
- Notice how tense you can get and make a point of relaxing
- Check your emails maximum four times a day.
- Alternate intense days of work with more relaxed ones.
- Do the hardest thing first in the morning.
- Have at least one hour a day to focus 100 percent; do not allow any interruptions or distractions.
- Breathe more deeply: take at the very least three very deep breaths when you wake up and when you go to bed.
- Be mindful, do one thing at a time, for instance, while walking, focus on your feet, on breathing, not on what you were doing before or what you are going to talk about just after.
- Take time to listen to how you are feeling while breathing, driving, arriving home, eating…
- Know your limits
- Do more of what you love: what recharges you? When did you last do it?
- And one more for the road, last but not least: have more laughs!
- Using technology at work - 13 June 2016
- Connecting to your inner productivity - 31 May 2016
- The one-minute break secret - 19 January 2016
- Burnout or not burnout, that is the question! - 17 November 2015
- Not stressed enough? - 13 October 2015
- Taking performance to the next level - 30 June 2015
- Presenteeism: the virtually absent worker - 10 June 2015
- Work-minded or mindfully aware? - 11 May 2015
- How to use technology and not let it use your employees - 28 April 2015
- A mindful day at work: what does it really mean? - 8 April 2015