Speed up Your Work Day

They call it "work" for a reason, right? Some days it seems like all the clocks in the entire building have ceased working. How do you get past the funk and get time to zoom by? With the right routine at work and at home, you can get every second on your side.

Steps

Developing a Time-Passing Routine

  1. Eat a healthy breakfast. Sometimes it's not that work is terrible or terribly slow, it's just that our heads aren't in it. To make sure you start out the day with energy to power through the seconds, start with a healthy breakfast. Ditch the doughnut that will give you the sugar crash before noon and go for something protein packed, like eggs, lean meat, and whole grain bread. That morning will go by much faster when you don't have to slog through it.
    • Try to stay away from too much caffeine, as well. Your morning cup of joe is fine, but three cups of coffee later you could be asking for trouble come the afternoon or at night. Not sleeping is a definite way to make the work day trudge by.
  2. Make your workplace ergonomic. If you have a desk job from 9-5, the time will not pass by quickly if it physically pains you to sit at your computer. The more comfortable you are; the better you'll feel, the more you'll be able to work, and the less you'll feel inclined to just tell your boss you're going home. When your body is happy, your mind is happy too.
    • Though an ergonomic chair and desk is a good idea, that's shoveling out money you don't necessarily have to shovel out. Aim to sit up straight and have your computer at the right height for your arms and wrists. That's half the battle won right there.
  3. Be social. There could be one giant reason the time isn't flying by: you have no coworkers to distract you with. Humans naturally are social creatures and exchanging a witty comment or two with those around you can make the clock tick by faster, improve your morale, and give you that boost to get your work done even faster. How could your boss argue with that?
    • Not convinced this is worth it? Recent studies have shown that if you're friends with your coworkers, you may live longer.[1] The truth is that those who are happier and more relaxed (and coworkers determine a chunk of this) are healthier in general. So if you don't want to laugh at Rich's joke just for the sake of being friendly, at least do it for your health.
  4. Come up with a few work rituals. Work being just work is a recipe for disaster. You'll burn yourself out in no time (though it will feel like years). We all need a few things throughout the day to look forward to or just to mix things up. This could be something as simple as a cup of tea at 3 PM or a walk around the building at 11 AM.
    • Cultivate some 'stress buster' techniques. These are not only great for your physical health, but also, great for your mental health; your morale gets uplifted, you relax, time flies by, and you end up resenting work a little less. Just make sure you're choosing positive routines, not trash talking your coworkers or scarfing down a bowl of sugar.
  5. Take care of yourself outside of work. You know those people that are super charged at work and probably all the time? They're probably not only bursting with positivism at work; it's a lifestyle choice they've made. To be at your best at work, you've gotta be your best at home, too. That means eating healthy, exercising, relaxing, and getting enough sleep. If you don't take care of yourself, it's going to become all too clear why they call it "work."
    • In fact, a recent study equated not getting enough sleep to being drunk on the job.[2] Can you imagine how slowly the seconds would tick by if you had to spend the next 8 hours feeling drunk and yet still working?

Working Smarter to Pass the Time

  1. Focus on the service you're providing. Though it may sound a bit cheesy, a lot of how we think about time and work is our mindset. If you're thinking to yourself, "This is the 35,098,509th sandwich I've had to make today," work is going to stink. Those seconds will feel like they're ticking through molasses in January. But instead, imagine thinking, "This is the 35,098,509th person I've fed today." Way better, huh?
    • Though it'll take definite focus and concentration, think about the good you're doing, and the good job you're doing; take pride in your work. Even if it's on a minuscule scale, your work matters. It matters to someone, even if that person's not you. With a more positive attitude, that clock can be on your side.[3]
  2. Set goals. There's a reason the term "go postal" exists. A while back, there were a series of murders by postal workers. One of the arguments is that the monotony of the job caused the workers to "go postal." Why is this a factor? Everyone needs goals and something to work toward. If you're making your umpteenth sandwich or delivering your umpteenth piece of mail, it's easy to feel like you're floundering, getting nothing done. Your boss may not give goals to you, but you can make them. What's your goal for the day?
    • If it's easiest, just think for today. Once you get the hang of it, set a goal for the week. This can give you drive to get things done. And the more you get things done and are kept busy and distracted, the more quickly time will pass.
  3. Ask your boss to work on something you enjoy more. In your job, you probably have a series of duties you have to complete. More than likely there are some you like and some you don't. There might even be some you dread. Do yourself a favor and ask your boss if you can concentrate on the tasks you enjoy. Time will go by much more effortlessly when you're having a bit more fun.
    • This is good for your boss, too. A happier worker who enjoys what he or she is doing gets more done and is more likely to stick around for the long-term, too.
  4. Take breaks. You may think it's slacking, but it's just the opposite: taking breaks can up your brain's ability to focus and get more done.[4] If your boss gives you guff, show him the light with scientific data. It says that humans perform best when given a 5 or 10 minute break around every hour. Your brain needs that time to recharge; why not take it?
    • If you sit during the day, make sure to get up and moving during your break. Go to the bathroom, visit the watercooler, or just stretch. It'll get your blood flowing, and your blood flowing to your brain, too.
  5. Do your tasks with your body in mind. At the beginning of each day, make a to-do list. Write down which tasks are hard and which ones are easy. Once that's done, think about your body. When are you the most energetic and when do you wish you could just take a nap? Aim to do the hard tasks at your peak and the easy tasks when you're just dying to go home. With this method, time will be more on your side.
    • This will be different for everyone. Some people need 4 hours to really wake up, while others start out energized and it's all downhill from there. Only you know when you are at your best.

Keeping Yourself Busy

  1. Listen to music. If you can, listen to music while you work to help keep yourself distracted and pass the time more quickly. This will also help you engage more parts of your brain. Just make sure you're listening to music that matches the mood; too slow and it might lull you to sleep.
    • Every person has their own get-jazzed kind of music. Do some experimenting with Internet radio; you may find that in-the-zone-work-music is different than the music you prefer to listen to in your free time.
  2. Get the most out of your lunch hour. If possible, get out of the office. Take a short walk or drive to get food, and eat out instead of in the conference room. Getting others to come with you is another good idea. That long, social break may be what you need to power through the afternoon.
    • Avoid going to the bathroom or doing other things that can be done before/after your lunch in order to get the most time out of your lunch.
    • Try going to a new place for lunch every once in a while, and recruit co-workers. This way there is something to look forward to during the morning.
  3. Organize your work area. A cluttered area is a cluttered mind. A cluttered mind leads to slower and poorer decision making. Take five minutes to just organize whatever's at your desk or in your space. When it's cleaner, you've not only killed a bit of time, but you've also made it easier to breathe.
    • On a slow day, it's all about keeping yourself busy. If you don't have your own area to clean, consider organizing a community area. How could your boss say no?
  4. Plan your evening or weekend. When we get home from work, it's all too easy to plop down in front of the TV for hours on end and go on autopilot. This is great in theory, but then when work rolls around the next morning, it's like it never happened. This is even worse when it takes up your entire weekend. In your downtime at work, make a plan. If your boss asks, you're just practicing time management.
    • This not only keeps you busy now, but it gives you something to look forward to. And then when that time does roll around, it'll be time well-spent. You'll be recharged and work won't seem so bad since you had quality time off.[5]
  5. Ask for something to mix up your day (or come up with it yourself). If it's a slow day at work, you may just need another new task to take care of. And the fact that it's new will make the time go by much faster. Ask your boss if you can go get everyone lunch or take care of the inside of the microwave that everyone knows about but no one acknowledges openly.
    • If you're feeling particularly ambitious, start on a project that isn't due for a while. That way when the time comes, that day in the future will go by much faster. You're using right now to take care of future you, which is a win-win.
  6. Don't feel guilty for taking a few minutes to yourself. There's tons of scientific data that say breaks are good for you and for your work performance. In fact, just a two-minutes break can increase your productivity by 11%. It can literally keep you on schedule.[6] So don't feel guilty about taking a second to browse Facebook, check your email, or send that text or Tweet. In the long run, it'll make you perform better.
    • Just make sure it doesn't start to negatively affect your performance. A few minutes on Facebook is good, but an hour is not. Breaks are only breaks when they're sandwiched between periods of working hours!

Tips

  • Making friends and talking to co-workers can help speed up the day. If you enjoy being at work, time will fly by.
  • Don't think about time.

Warnings

  • Make sure you are aware of who is watching you when you are on non-work related websites (especially if it's the boss).

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/224912.php
  2. ↑ http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/05/sleep/max-text
  3. ↑ http://www.thenonconformingprofessional.com/how-to-make-your-work-day-go-faster.html
  4. ↑ http://psychcentral.com/news/2011/02/09/taking-breaks-found-to-improve-attention/23329.html
  5. ↑ http://www.positionignition.com/blog/2013/12/5/10-ways-to-make-your-working-week-go-faster.html
  6. ↑ http://healthdecide.orcahealth.com/orcatheme_imagepost/take-a-break-it-may-increase-productivity/#.VCHLxfldUss
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