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Do things that make you happy everyday, since happy workers are 12% more productive

Research shows that happy employees are up to 12% more productive. This is because happiness boosts your motivation and energy, allowing you to work better and faster. When you feel good, you are more likely to tackle challenges and come up with creative solutions. Therefore, it is important to make time every day for things that make you happy, whether it’s a hobby, spending time with friends and family, or just relaxing.

A job that makes you happy can also improve your well-being and productivity. If your work makes you happy, you are more engaged and motivated, leading to better performance. This improved performance gives you a sense of satisfaction and happiness. This creates a positive cycle where your productivity and well-being continue to grow. Therefore, it is important not only to do things outside of work that make you happy but also to choose a career that matches your interests.

Most knowledge workers check their email within the first 30 minutes of the day

Research shows that many knowledge workers check their email within half an hour of waking up. This is because email can be addictive, especially for younger people. They want to know immediately what’s going on and feel productive when they check their email, even before their workday officially begins.

However, quickly checking email can also have drawbacks. It can make people feel overwhelmed by all the requests and information they see right away. This can cause stress, especially if there are urgent matters. Also, constantly switching between emails and other tasks can make people work less efficiently and find it harder to concentrate.

Although it’s tempting to check your email immediately, it might be better to do so later in the morning. This way, people can start their day with important tasks without being distracted by their inbox. By handling email more consciously, they can be more productive and start their workday calmer and more focused.

Working outside of standard working hours can undermine intrinsic motivation, as it prompts people to reflect on how they could have spent their day better if they had not worked

This phenomenon has been studied in various studies, involving both students and full-time employees. The results showed that the awareness of working outside of standard working hours has a negative impact on intrinsic motivation. This effect occurred regardless of whether participants were explicitly reminded that they were working outside of normal working hours.

An important factor contributing to this undermining of intrinsic motivation is the social norm. People are social beings and tend to synchronize their schedules with those of others. When someone works outside of standard working hours, this can lead to a feeling of isolation and the idea that they are not in line with the rest of society. This can result in an increased awareness of alternative, possibly more satisfying ways to spend time, such as social activities or relaxation.

Try to complete new tasks on the day you receive them

By tackling tasks immediately, you prevent them from piling up and getting in your way later. This is similar to the idea that a task is a debt you have to pay off in the future. While it can sometimes be useful to postpone things, it is usually better to handle them quickly. This keeps your task list short and allows you to make progress faster and adapt more easily to changes.

Working quickly and efficiently is often praised by successful people like Sam Altman and Tyler Cowen. They emphasize that acting quickly and adapting swiftly to new information is important for success. This means not only responding quickly to emails and meeting deadlines but also making decisions quickly and adjusting them if necessary. This approach ensures that you keep moving and don’t get stuck in long decision-making processes.

A short task list helps you focus on what really matters and prevents you from being overwhelmed by a lot of unfinished tasks. By handling new tasks immediately, you reduce stress and make room for new challenges and opportunities. This not only increases your productivity but also your ability to remain flexible and resilient in a changing work environment.

The human mind and brain lack the architecture to perform multiple tasks simultaneously

People are not good at doing multiple things at once. Our brains are not designed for this. Our cognitive and neural systems, which are responsible for mental functions, do not have the right architecture to effectively support multitasking. When we think we are working on different things at the same time, we are actually switching quickly between tasks. This back-and-forth switching costs energy and time. As a result, we make more mistakes and the work takes longer.

Our brains work best when we do one thing at a time. This is due to how we have evolved as humans. If we try to do different things at once, it becomes too much for our brains. There are some people who can do this better, but they are very few. For most people, it works better to focus on one task. This way, you get the best result.

Professionals spend about 60% of their time on work about work

“Work about work” refers to the activities you do to organize and coordinate your work, but that do not directly contribute to your main task. These include tasks such as communicating about work, searching for information, switching between different programs, dealing with changing priorities, and figuring out the status of ongoing projects. While these activities are necessary to move projects forward, they can be time-consuming and distract from truly productive work.

The concept of “work about work” is well-researched, including in Asana’s Anatomy of Work Index, which surveyed over 10,000 knowledge workers worldwide. This research shows that these additional tasks take up a lot of time, leaving less time for important work that directly contributes to the organization’s goals. This can be frustrating for employees, as they feel they cannot use their time effectively and that their productivity is hindered by these ancillary tasks.

To reduce the impact of “work about work,” organizations can simplify their workflows and use technologies that require less communication and information searching. Spending less time on “work about work” can not only increase productivity but also enhance job satisfaction and employee well-being.

Professionals lose an average of three hours per week on unnecessary meetings

Professionals lose an average of three hours per week on unnecessary meetings, which has a significant impact on their productivity and job satisfaction. This waste of time can often be attributed to poorly organized meetings with no clear agenda or where the topics discussed are not relevant to all attendees. The feeling that “this meeting could have been an email” is a common complaint among employees, indicating that many meetings are not effectively utilized.

The costs of these unnecessary meetings are not only time-bound, but also have financial implications for organizations. By using tools such as the Meeting Cost Calculator, companies can gain insight into the actual costs of meetings and make better decisions about whether a meeting is necessary. Reducing unnecessary meetings can lead to a more efficient use of time and resources, and can contribute to higher satisfaction and effectiveness among employees.

The expectation that you check email outside of working hours can lead to health problems, relationship issues, and anxiety

If employees always feel that they need to be available, even outside of work hours, it can cause a lot of stress. This constant stress can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, sleep issues, and a weakened immune system. The feeling that you always have to be “on,” without a clear separation between work and personal life, can also harm your mental health and cause anxiety and fatigue.

Additionally, checking emails outside of work hours can also cause problems in relationships. The constant distraction and the need to handle work matters can reduce the quality of personal relationships. Partners and family members may feel neglected or frustrated by the continuous interruptions, which can lead to conflicts and a poorer relationship. It is important to set clear boundaries and discuss expectations to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Finally, the pressure to check emails outside of work hours can contribute to feelings of anxiety. Employees may feel overwhelmed by the constant stream of work messages and the expectation to respond quickly. This can make them always alert and unable to relax properly, even in their free time. It is important for employers to have realistic expectations and encourage employees to set clear boundaries. This way, they have enough time to recover and ensure their well-being.

Employees with a private office have 70% more face-to-face interaction compared to employees in an open workspace

People who have their own office talk 70% more often with colleagues than those who work in a large, open space. This is remarkable because many people think that those in an open office talk more with each other. But that’s not the case. In an open office, people are often less inclined to talk to each other. This is likely because they feel watched or because there are too many distractions. As a result, colleagues talk less spontaneously with each other, which is unfortunate for collaboration and new ideas.

Instead of talking directly to each other, people in open offices tend to send emails more often. Emailing can be convenient, but it’s not the same as a real conversation. For example, with emailing, you miss facial expressions and tone of voice. It also depends on what kind of person you are—some people are more introverted, while others are very social. However, the general pattern that emerges from the research is that private offices are preferred when it comes to promoting face-to-face interaction.

Longer workdays undermine productivity and cognitive skills

Research shows that extremely long work weeks backfire. If you work more than 55 hours per week, you actually perform worse than colleagues with shorter work weeks. This effect is not only temporary: studies show that long working hours can lead to a decline in important cognitive skills such as reasoning, vocabulary, and memory in the long run. The problem manifests itself as early as middle age, suggesting that the effects of overwork accumulate throughout one’s career.

The negative effects of long workdays go beyond just reduced mental sharpness. Employees who consistently work overtime make more mistakes, creating extra work. This leads to a vicious cycle: despite working more hours, productivity actually drops. The result is that less work is ultimately completed, despite all the extra hours put in. These findings hold true even when researchers account for other factors such as age, education, income, health problems, and sleep disorders.

The message is clear: working more does not automatically mean achieving more. On the contrary, those who consistently work more than 55 hours a week risk not only lower productivity in the short term but also lasting damage to cognitive functions. For both employers and employees, it is therefore wise to keep work weeks within reasonable limits, where quality takes precedence over quantity.