Alexander Fleming, Narayana Murthy, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Dhirubai Ambani, Alan Turing; well-known entrepreneurs and businessmen, social media kings and IT biggies- they’ve all had messy moments at work, and at some point have faced been bitten by the ‘productivity’ bug too. With that being said, your human resource specialist at work would tell you ways on amping up the productivity levels, maybe send you for workshops to rejuvenate and refresh- in a bid to bring more to the table henceforth- do they work? Here are a couple of myths related to productivity, we need to debunk, and now! Read on!
How Sincere are you?
Does sarcasm actually engage the brain more? For example, if you are seen clearly resting and your boss walks in on you and says “Don’t work too hard”, the tone of sarcasm is all too clear. Your brain is put into the abstract thought mode; guilt to be precise and that’s when you think of increasing your creativity say experts. So the myth of using sarcasm always doesn’t work, but what would work is sincerity at work! If you cannot do a task, be honest!
De-cluttering is the key
The best of the best we know off today have had the messiest of desks; it’s true. The brain thus gets into thinking, if the surrounding is a mess, why work? It is thus time for some de-cluttering to happen. This would thus be an ideal state to come up with new innovative ways to bring more to the table, and ideas from unknown sources to flow in too. The myth; messier desks are the sign of hardwork, thus debunked!
Higher pay means more work done
Research and studies by an esteemed creative communications agency opines “ Employers often make the mistake of believing that salary is a primary motivator; however, that couldn’t be further from the truth. While a potential financial outcome can influence a person’s desire to pursue a specific career path, it almost certainly won’t make them more engaged in their work.” Debunked yet again; higher salaries don’t necessarily mean more motivation to bring excess to the table- motivation differs from one individual to the next- a higher pay needn’t necessarily be that dough they need.
Where there is a will, there isn’t necessarily a way
The old adage “Where there is a will, there is a way” sounds nice to hear, but does the myth help with productivity? A little more power is what you need when your energy levels flag, they say. But that’s not true. In reality, the willpower of an individual is like a muscle in the body, says research. Imagine overusing your muscles and then expecting it to do its best; there’s nothing left to work with and a change of gears is a must! The willpower myth, thus debunked!
Your brain needs exercising
In the new-age, we have plenty of brain training exercises to help sail our boats- Sudoku for example can be a brain food much needed when the flags are down. However, to keep your brain fit, you need to do something that makes you happy. Maybe play an instrument over your coffee break- workout for the brain is done and more grey matter to work with. Now brain exercising isn’t only solving a puzzle or a card game, so let’s debunk that. And yes, to keep your brain fit you also need to keep your body fit. Start by getting your hands on some classy fitness clothing From tops, shorts, hoodies to base layers; find your everyday favourites to discover your best fitness style. Sports enthusiasts must rejoice as Nike promo code offers tempting and one-of-a-kind deals. Choose what works best for you, and do it!
No, you don’t work best under pressure
Most biggies and beauty queens have said they work best under pressure and don’t buckle under the same- LIES! We all buckle under pressure, especially when the deadline is minutes away and a nagging boss breathes down our neck. This is a myth that we need to debunk as soon as possible, because in reality, when the body and the mind is relaxed, productivity is shown to be higher and better. Your mind gets crafty and revisions are done better because of the least tension and stress involved. Think about it!
Multitasking works wonders
If you multitask almost daily, your brains work out well and the grey matter in them helps you bring more to the table. Let’s bunk this myth here and now, because multitasking is no more considered a productivity hack. Research has shown that people who multitask are actually the ones with productivity problems. There are more errors, lesser information processed, attention problems noticed and more. You don’t want to get into that bandwagon and expect brownie points for everything you do!
Disconnect and you will be fine
We have the world wide web, the smartphone, the tabs and everything around to keep us connected on the go; great. But that doesn’t help us amp up the productivity levels we need- let’s bunk that myth! There is an overload of information on the internet, and since the online world is but a part of our lives now, we are very conscious in choosing what to believe and what not too- in the end, we mess up and make more errors because too many options gets us all confused. Break the shackles of the online world for a moment, and get into the disconnect zone for once, says a famous magazine.
Productivity can never be outside an office
Work from home, work from remote locations, work from anywhere but the office; this is what new-age blue collar workers are demanding these days. However, HR and managers of various companies are still stuck to the myth that productive work is done best under their noses and supervision; at offices only. A study done by the esteemed Stanford University tested five hundred employees in china working for a travel agency; the results of those five hundred working from home as compared to the total twelve hundred employees the company had, were far better than the latter. Signs of productivity were higher with those not at work, than those at their physical workstations- think about this!
Stop day dreaming
How often has the boss told you this? And let’s admit it, even our bosses are victim to the day dreaming saga once in a while. The myth is that day dreaming does more harm than good, since it is an impetus to boredom. But did you know, studies have shown that day dreaming in fact can help amp up the mental status quo and productivity levels of work? Research has shown that idleness moments can help us with better focussing skills. So daydreaming as a myth needs to be shown the door!
Any more myths with regard to productivity at work, you would like to break or talk about? Let us know!
