How to Find Energy and Focus to Maximize Workplace Productivity
Your energy determines how well you can dedicate your focus and efforts at work. If you have less energy, you may be unable to keep up with the demanding schedule of the executive work that fuels your fire. Read these ways to find flow in your work environment for optimal performance. You’ll have improved long-term productivity at work because you’re balancing your energy with your schedule.
1. Rearrange Your Furniture
Everyone needs safety to thrive, especially in the workplace. Leadership teams and employees must feel safe to voice their thoughts and options, which decreases the risk of burnout1 and promotes better teamwork.
Executives also need safety on the job. Although leaders have more power in the workplace than anyone else, the environment could keep you on edge. That inner tension drains your energy and keeps you from achieving your best workflow.
Try making your office feel both protective and cozy. Rearranging your furniture may create that desired comfort and flow in your work environment. Place your desk and chairs facing the door so you work with your back to a wall. You may feel safer, leading to improved communication2 and reduced burnout.
2. Change Your Background Elements
Some people are more comfortable in stimulating environments. The workplace naturally stimulates executives because many people rely on you for leadership decisions and in-the-moment guidance. However, your private office could be too quiet and require changes in your background.
Consider listening to music from different cultures either through headphones or out loud with your office door closed. Frequent playlist updates will keep your focus music interesting and your energy levels high.
Remember, every effort to improve your energy flow benefits your team members. “Engaging leaders are likely to improve their job characteristics to the point of stimulating greater engagement among their employees,” Greta Mazzertti, psychologist and Senior Assistant Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Bologna, told Health.3 “This finding is consistent across occupational sectors and cultural contexts.”
3. Align Your Work With Your Morals
It’s crucial to work in an environment that supports your moral standards. Ensuring nothing about your life weighs on your conscience ensures you can rise to your full capacity as an executive.
Picture an aviation industry executive. Even after finding great success, they may not reach their maximum performance potential because the industry doesn’t align with their sustainable values. Airplane emissions account for 2% of the U.S. carbon emissions, which frequent fliers are noticing.4
Executives with more control over entire airlines could introduce recycling programs and offsetting opportunities for consumers to maximize their environmental impact. Consider which values are most important to you and how you could align them with your professional routine or responsibilities.
4. Elevate Your Workspace
The optimum flow in your work environment could require literal elevation for a change in perspective. You may be unable to change your workspace’s floor plan, but more minor changes can create this necessary effect for more efficient professional performance.
Get a standing desk and elevate it at least once a day. << Click that sentence to order one today! Your energy may shift as you work at a slightly higher level because standing slightly increases your heart rate. Opening blinds and windows also make a room more visually expansive. See if it frees your energy by decreasing your stress.5
You could also make your office a more welcoming environment by taking some of everyone’s focus off their productivity. Host an occasional happy hour at the end of the workday. If you prep with conversation starters to make chatting easier and provide foods everyone can enjoy,6 you’ll make new memories that make the workplace feel more like home.
5. Collaborate More Frequently
You might be one of the many executives who thrive in collaborative environments. The workplace is an incredibly collaborative environment for people who work with numerous teams daily. However, you can make the workplace even more interconnected by improving your communication abilities.
Consider implementing new technologies for people to work on projects and converse. Instant messaging software or collaborative digital platforms merge communication and real-time work efforts. Even if executives only use them to communicate with other C-suite members, it creates more room for helpful conversations that boost everyone’s optimal performance.
Use new communication technologies or strategies daily to get the most benefit from them. You’ll likely find a better energetic flow because the interpersonal boost improves your productivity.
Find the Flow in Your Work Environment
Working in your most optimum professional environment elevates your leadership abilities as an executive in your industry. You’ll prevent stress or anxiety from affecting how you strategize, improve communication and chart your company’s future. Reflect on when you feel more or less energetic to strengthen your professional performance through environmental improvements.
Sources
1. Sherf EN, Parke MR, Isaakyan S. Distinguishing voice and silence at work: Unique relationships with perceived impact, psychological safety, and burnout. Acad Manage J. 2020;64(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2018.1428
2. Working on Communication Through Better Office Design. Modern Office Furniture. Published December 14, 2017. Accessed January 5, 2024. https://strongproject.com/office-furniture-blog/working-on-communication-through-better-office-design
3. Mazzetti G, Schaufeli WB. The impact of engaging leadership on employee engagement and team effectiveness: A longitudinal, multi-level study on the mediating role of personal- and team resources. Senel E, ed. PLoS One. 2022;17(6):1-25. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269433
4. U.S. Department of Energy. DOE releases roadmap to achieve carbon neutral aviation emissions.
5. The Benefits of Having a Window in Your Office or Workspace - M&T Glass. M&T Glass -. Published July 10, 2017. Accessed January 5, 2024. https://mtglass.com/blog/windows/benefits-window-office-workspace/
6. Office Happy Hour Ideas & Venues for Work Events. Thompson Island. Published February 17, 2022. Accessed January 5, 2024. https://thompsonislandbrewing.com/blog/office-happy-hour/
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