How to work less to get more done

Work productivity plummets when the workweek is longer than 50 hours – such is the indisputable conclusion of a study by psychologists at Stanford University. And that’s not all. At 55 working hours a week, productivity drops even further and virtually disappears.

In other words, if you work 70 hours a week, this indicates only one thing: you manage to do exactly the same amount of time as more successful and organized people manage to do in 50.

How do they do it? This question was asked by psychologist and author Travis Bradbury, an emotional intelligence specialist and co-author (with Jean Greaves) of Emotional Intelligence 2.0. He shared his findings with the Quartz portal.

1. Unplug

Being offline is an essential part of your weekend strategy. If you are unable to protect yourself from messages and calls from work from Friday evening to Monday morning, then you do not stop working. Therefore, you are constantly under pressure from work-related stressors. If two whole days without connection with work is an unaffordable luxury for you, then at least set aside strictly defined hours on Saturday and Sunday when you answer business messages and calls. Even this will significantly reduce stress without affecting your ability to stay in the know.

2. Learn to plan your household chores

Small but necessary household chores have an amazing ability to completely fill any amount of time that you saw free. And in this case, you still live in the mode of a 7-hour working week: the fact that on weekends you do not participate in meetings or brainstorming sessions, but take care of the housework, does not play any role. Most often this is due to our inability to plan household chores. Learn to distribute them and take their planning and execution as seriously as you take the most important business meetings.

3. Know how to comprehend your work

If you can’t completely stop thinking about working on the weekend, then learn to change the very point of view. This is not only possible, but necessary. In the bustle of working days, we simply do not have time to look at what is happening “from a bird’s eye view.” A couple of free hours on the weekend would be perfect. Assess and analyze the most important global trends affecting not only you personally, but also your company and your entire industry. The skill of such reflection significantly increases the productivity and efficiency of daily work.

4. Physical activity is a must

No amount of busyness can justify a sedentary lifestyle. Even 10 minutes of physical activity is enough to trigger the production of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the body, the most important neurotransmitter, the action of which reduces stress loads. Not to mention the fact that it is during walking, running, swimming and other sports that creative people often come up with the brightest ideas. Find the type of physical activity that is especially pleasant and interesting for you, and make it an obligatory part of the weekend.

5. Find yourself a passion

Whether it’s playing the violin or painting, planting roses in the garden, or sawing with a jigsaw, the results don’t matter at all. The important thing is that if you really give yourself to your hobby with passion, you completely switch to it, abandoning other anxieties and worries. And may your paintings, roses or performing talents not glorify you to the whole world. But your success in work in this case can glorify. Because you will return to business rested, full of energy, and possibly new bright ideas.

6. Dedicate the weekend to the family

Many of us during the working week do not even have enough time to even talk a little or play with the children, be alone with our loved ones. “Continue in the same spirit” and on weekends is simply unacceptable. Take your kids to the zoo or an amusement park, go to a restaurant or theater with your loved one. Of course, they really need it. But, believe me, you yourself need it even more.

7. Come up with a little adventure

It can be a trip to an interesting place near your city or a romantic night with your loved one in a new elegant hotel. And it doesn’t matter that you have a beautiful bedroom at home, and it’s a three-hour drive to an interesting place. Adventures like this really help to keep yourself in good shape. A lot of research shows that the expectation of pleasure is no less important than getting it. And if on Monday you know that something unusual and pleasant awaits you on Saturday, the whole week will turn out to be much more successful and easier.

8. Wake up at the same time

The temptation to sleep longer on weekends is, of course, great. But in doing so, you only confuse the daily rhythms of your body. In order to wake up refreshed and rested, the brain must go through a certain sequence of sleep phases. And the frequent change in the duration of the night’s rest breaks this sequence. As a result, on the weekend and the following Monday, you run the risk of waking up sluggish, lethargic – and not too ready for either rest or work.

9. Make the morning “your time”

By the way, another useful habit can help you wake up at the same time – always start the day with activities that you especially like. This may be the same passion that was discussed above. Even a short period of time allotted to him in the morning significantly increases the subjective feeling of happiness. At the same time, keep in mind that our mental abilities reach their maximum efficiency 2-4 hours after waking up. Therefore, the first hours of the morning should be devoted more to activities that require physical exertion, in order to then switch to intellectual ones.

10. Get ready for the coming week

And on weekends, it’s worth finding half an hour – you won’t need more – to plan all the most important things for the next week. This will also help to avoid unnecessary overloads, stress and be in time for much more in the coming working days.

Source: Quartz.