Weekly Motivation

5 Ways to Boost Productivity and Beat Stress

Save your blood, sweat, and tears. Corporate go-getters often flame out before going anywhere, but experts say sensible slackers can waltz to the top. Here’s how to ditch the worker-bee rules and adopt a stress-free, healthy, and productive lifestyle.

Old Rule: Quitters Never Win

New Rule: Losers Quit; Winners Cut Their Losses
Perseverance isn’t helpful if you’re digging a hole. Canadian researchers found that even when inventors are advised to give up on a hopeless project, 29 percent continue to invest money, and 51 percent continue to invest time. Seldman says to continuously reevaluate your projects to see if they’re worth the effort—or if the end goal is even possible. “Understand sunk costs,” he says. “Don’t get caught up in the investment you’ve already paid.”

Old Rule: Be There

New Rule: Play Hard to Get
Sure, e-mail is efficient, but researchers at the University of California at Irvine found that people take an average of 25 minutes to get back to business after a distraction. Total damage: Up to 2.1 wasted hours a day, another study found. “Be disciplined. Allow chunks of time uninterrupted by e-mail,” says Donald E. Wetmore, J.D., M.B.A., author of The Productivity Handbook. Attend to the inbox during low-energy points, saving high-energy times for more important jobs. If the boss really needs you, he’ll call.

Old Rule: Juggle like a Circus Clown, Baby!

New Rule: Multitasking Stalls Your System
Even though brain activity rises when you focus on multiple tasks, your performance suffers, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon. “Avoiding distractions isn’t always possible, so you need to learn how to rapidly refocus,” says David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done and Making It All Work. Develop a system to jog your memory, such as jotting down new tasks (“Call Fred”), putting them aside, and staying focused on your current work.

Old Rule: Be Perfect

New Rule: Be Perfect Only When It Matters
Perfectionists who obsess over little details can sometimes miss the things that count the most. For example, 37 percent of workers blamed such exacting tendencies for missed deadlines, according to one study presented in 2003. So be smarter. Seldman recommends identifying tasks you can do without fine-tuning, and spending most of your time on everything else. When you realize your less-than-perfect work is just fine, your agony will abate.

Old Rule: Hustle Hard

New Rule: Underpromise, Overdeliver
“You have only one time when you can manage expectations, and that’s in the beginning,” says Marty Seldman, Ph.D., coauthor of Executive Stamina. So set yourself up for success. If you can do a job in 3 days, say you’ll do it in 5—and then take time to add special finishing touches before turning it in “early.” It’s an easy way to impress: University of Florida researchers found that people are much happier about unexpected positive results than they are about predictable ones.