Fortunately, there are strategies you can implement to improve your concentration and your productivity. These science-backed tricks will help you stay active throughout the workday:
1. Have a dress code.
The research has consistently shown that dressing like you go to the office helps you perform better. A study by the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that all clothing has symbolic meaning. In other words, when you wear certain clothes you tend to adopt behaviors associated with what you are wearing.
In the study, participants who wore lab coats performed better on care tasks because the gown had a symbolic meaning of attention to detail and care. In the same way, if you wear clothes that you associate with a successful office, regardless of whether it is formal or informal, it can unconsciously put you in an ideal frame of mind for work.
2. Fill your space with green and decorative.
You have full control over the look of your office, but there are certain types of decoration like 3D Wall Panel that are more beneficial to your productivity. A study published in Science Daily found that offices decorated with plants had a 15 percent higher productivity rate than those without plants. And interestingly, the presence of plants was associated with higher job satisfaction.
Even a decorative plant on your desk can improve air quality and help you stay more focused on your work. And keeping them healthy by exposing them to sunlight can improve your own energy levels.
For best results, place your plant in an area visible from where you are working. Make sure you know if that plant lives best in direct sunlight or in shade, so that it stays healthy in the space you have chosen.
3. Use music to focus.
In the last half century, hundreds of studies have shown the positive correlation between music and activities as diverse as exercise or shopping. The ability of music to make us perform better and stand out is a behavioral outcome… Listening to (and creating) music has been shown to reduce stress levels and even help treat mental illness.
What is it that makes music have this impact?
Listening to music helps release dopamine in the brain, reducing stress and helping us feel motivated, and even happy while working. Studies have even shown that listening to music helps us work faster and be more creative.
4. Avoid distractions, but not breaks.
The smartphones can be distracting important when making Home office. However, if you have great self-control, the time you spend off work can be a huge benefit. Breaks are necessary because they help your prefrontal cortex to recharge so you can refocus on what matters.
When you work from home, you have more control over when and how to take breaks. Whether you go for a walk, read a chapter from your favorite novel, or watch a couple of YouTube videos, you can rest your mind in the way that works best for you and ensure you return to work rejuvenated and with greater focus.
5. Stay warm.
By working from home you have more control over the thermostat, allowing you to create a much more comfortable atmosphere. However, in addition to the issue of comfort or what you can spend on electricity, you should also consider the way in which the temperature affects your productivity.
Turning on the heat during the winter and turning the air conditioning down during the summer means that your body uses less energy to stay warm and can use it to focus on the work in front of you.
Working from home brings a number of challenges, but it can also be extremely rewarding. As you put into practice these simple science-backed methods to improve your productivity, your home office will become the ideal space to fuel your success.