Power Snacks

Our energy levels directly influence our ability to perform tasks. 

It won’t surprise you to learn that caffeine is the go-to for most of us, but it can actually cause a dip in energy after the initial hit. Similarly, super sweet foods also tend to bring about a whole-body sluggishness once the high has worn off. 

So, what can you eat to help boost your energy levels?

Fire, protein and healthy fats burn slowly and boost brain focus. Here are some examples of foods you can keep within reach to help enhance your productivity.

Bananas

Sweet and creamy, bananas are not only high in potassium, which regulates heart function but provide instant yet sustained energy AND contain tryptophan, which converts to serotonin. 

Green Tea

Green tea has naturally occurring ingredients like caffeine and L-theanine that combine to enhance cognitive function, including supporting attention, focus and memory. 

Avocado

Avocados are full of monounsaturated fatty acids, carotenoids, fibre, and micronutrients, all providing a strong base for boosting cognitive function across the board. 

Dark Chocolate 

It’s not everyone’s favourite, but dark chocolate is an indulgence that can scale up your productivity without breaking your budget. It’s full of antioxidants that increase blood flow to the brain, enhancing neuroplasticity and supporting better memory, attention and problem-solving. 

Popcorn 

Popcorn isn’t just for movie nights.

This low-calorie, high-fibre, wholegrain snack is considered far healthier than processed grains and releases energy slowly so that you remain determined to tick tasks off your list without flagging. 

Delegate

Time spent on tasks that don't move your day forward is money down the drain. While outsourcing feels like a hefty outlay, it should always have an associated return on investment - whether that’s time or money.

For example, in LNC’s experience, our cleaning teams free up so much time for busy staff that their cost is well worth it. It enables every single person to walk into the office in the morning and get on with the job they are paid to do…

Everything is where it needs to be; there is no clutter confusing our brains and making it difficult to concentrate, and there are fewer bouts of employee illness because the place is kept clean and tidy. 

Find Your Groove

Does time management stress you out? 

It’s something plenty of us struggle with. There are plenty of different ways to manage our time effectively, and finding the one that works for you will transform how you get stuff done.

Here are some of the most common techniques… Why not give them a try?

Pomodoro Technique 

Named after the Italian word for tomato, this technique involves splitting work tasks into 25-minute intervals, or ‘pomodoros’, with breaks in between. Working this way, tasks of all sizes are easier to digest, eliminating overwhelm and stress and providing little wins to keep you satisfied and hungry for more. 

Time Blocking

As the name suggests, this time management approach splits your day into blocks that are each focused on completing a task. This way, a timetable of manageable work chunks takes the place of an open-ended, overwhelming to-do list that fills you with dread. 

Eisenhower Decision Matrix

The decision matrix is a task management tool. Using it, you divide your to-do list into the four boxes of a grid:

• Tasks you’ll do (important and urgent)
• Tasks you’ll schedule (important but not urgent)
• Tasks you’ll delegate (not important but urgent)
• Tasks you’ll delete (not important and not urgent)

Using the Eisenhower Matrix helps you to organise and prioritise everything that needs doing so that you don’t waste time or energy pondering, stressing, procrastinating or otherwise not doing the stuff that needs to be done. 

Fix Your Filing

We've seen enough desktops to know that filing, both paper and digital, is often a disaster zone.

Even the best of intentions isn’t enough to magically create faultless, functional filing systems.

Saving documents in an ordered and logical way speeds up access for everyone who needs them, reduces space in your cloud-based system because documents are quite often duplicated in several folders, and infinitely streamlines processes and procedures.

And this works for paper, too. Organisation is everything. 

Time Management And Productivity Go Hand In Hand 

We know, we know… There never seems to be enough time in the day. But, by utilising some of the tips we’ve covered in this blog, you can speed up the tasks on your to-do list and reduce that feeling of overwhelm.

Without forking out to enhance your skills.

Looking for someone to take care of your office hygiene and cleanliness? Get in touch and request a quote today.