Behavior At Work: Slow Down To Increase Your Work Efficiency

When it comes to behavior at work, most executives with the right attitude tend to think that pushing their all, is the way to go.

It is important to push and give your best but it is equally important to rest and know how to recharge your batteries. You may have very good behavior at work and strive hard to increase your efficiency but if you do not know when to say stop, you will soon see your productivity drop.

How do you slow down in order to increase your efficiency? Is it possible to slow down and increase at the same time? Yes it is. I liken it to sharpening your axe. Imagine you are a woodcutter trying to cut down trees in a forest. You can surely continue to chop without stopping; you probably think taking a break is wasting time.

But if you were to stop and sharpen your axe, you can chop faster with a sharper axe, and with renewed energy you can work faster too. Slowing down here is sharpening your axe when it comes to behavior at work. This behavior at work helps you increase efficiency.

1. Get Enough Sleep
Of course, I do not mean sleeping in the office although I do recommend that you catch forty winks during break time to recharge your mind. Getting enough sleep here refers to the night before. Turn in early so that you get the sleep you require to perform your best the next day.

In my line, I have seen a lot of young executives spending late nights out and not getting enough sleep. They come to work tired. How can one expect the boss to see this as good behavior at work? You fall sick easier too when you do not get enough sleep.

2. Increase Face Time
One behavior at work you can practice is to increase face time if you want to increase your productivity. What I mean here is to learn that an email is not sufficient and can in fact may slow down the work. Technological advances are here to help you speed things up only if you know how to deploy them properly. Emails, short message service (SMS), instant messaging and voicemail is making behavior at work more and more impersonal.

You need to remember that work requires human interaction. Sometimes human interaction increases productivity when discussing complex issues and it limits misunderstandings. Examples of misunderstandings due to email abound. With the speed of people cc-ing and bcc-ing a bunch of people, sometimes people who need not be in the loop are caught in the discussion.

I personally like to walk over to a colleague’s place if I know the person is around and to brief the person on what is needed. If I do use the email is to confirm the discussion succinctly in such cases. Walking over allows me to take a much needed break and allows for human interaction.

3. Taking A Break
Slow down technique is a legitimate behavior at work that can increase work efficiency. Cliché as it sounds; it is one that probably works the best. Taking little pit stops helps break the monotony especially when you are on big long drawn projects.

I have back aches so I am somewhat forced to take breaks to stretch myself. If you have a desk job, it is important that you stretch often too to prevent repetitive stress injury (commonly known as RSI, you can find out more information at this site).

Walk over to a colleague’s place and have a chat. I do not mean hang around for a long time but quick chats are a welcomed break. Of course, use your common sense so as not to impose on your colleagues.

A little break technique I like to use is to clean up my to do list. As the day goes by it gets scribbled and canceled. I take a break by making a new list and if time permits at the end of the day I make the list for tomorrow. It allows me to take a break and also mentally prepare for tomorrow. This behavior at work has helped me become more efficient through the years.

Your behavior at work need not be about surpassing your own limits to be efficient. Sometimes, it is about managing your own mental and physical energy in order to be at your best.

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Easy, Practical Behavior at Work to Help You Increase Your Efficiency
When it comes to behavior at work, most executives with the right attitude tend to think that pushing their all, is the way to go. It is important to push and give your best but it is equally important to rest and know how to recharge your batteries.

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