Are you an ‘Office Slacker’?
We are all slackers. We all check our phones every five minutes, succumb to office chatter, and space out thinking about getting off work. American workers waste almost two hours a day on things other than their responsibilities and companies end up wasting an average of $759 billion on incomplete work.
So why do we slack off? It’s a mixture between employees not having enough to do, getting distracted by our coworkers, the opinion of getting underpaid, and the “I’ll finish it tomorrow” attitude. A third of this wasted time is socializing, while half of it are workers constantly being on their phones. And above all, one percent of this wasted time are employees applying for other jobs. How cruel is that?
So how can we fix this?
Employees, here are a couple ways to stay focused:
- Bring headphones into work and play classical music. This will help keep you focused from office chatter, which we all know is easy to get sucked into. Listening to classical music also makes repetitive tasks more enjoyable, reduces stress levels, and decreases blood pressure. Put on some Beethoven stat!
- As much as you don’t want to, put your phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode. This mode silences notifications, so your desk isn’t buzzing for every text message, news update, or sports score. With your muted phone, you’ll eventually forget you brought it in with you in the first place. Trust me, those happy hour text messages will still be there at the end of your shift.
- Create to-do lists and deadlines. Writing to-do lists and setting deadlines are great ways to make sure you finish all your tasks for the day. Also, there is no better feeling than when you get to cross something off your list, am I right?
- Make sure your desk is neat and tidy. It’s always nice to start your day off on a clean slate with a clean mind. Your room is messy, so let’s make sure your desk isn’t the same.
- We learned this in preschool. Make sure you’re getting the right amount of sleep and eating a solid breakfast. Eating breakfast in the morning boosts your energy, enhances your memory, and stabilizes your mood. If you eat breakfast, you won’t be “hangry” when you come in.
Statistics show almost half of all employees are distracted on any given work day. Using these tips will help you get the most out of each day.
