9 Daily Rituals To Boost Performance At Work

6. DAILY RITUALS TO BOOST PERFORMANCE AT WORK 3214 675 810 From athletes to entrepreneurs, many successful people have one thing in common: a superstitious ritual. It might seem silly, but research suggests it's not all in their head.' Why Rituals Work Whether it's public speaking or a big deadline, performing a ritual beforehand has been shown to reduce anxiety.? A Harvard study 83% of workers Research from the revealed that believe their well National Institute of pre-performance rituals can help us take on challenging being influences how productive they are, according to a survey Mental Health shows that feeling anxious worsens job performance.4 tasks at work.2 by PwC.3 How to Harness the Power of Rituals to Improve Your Work Here are some of the most effective rituals to help you achieve peak performance. Give Yourself A Short 1 Blast of Cold Water Chilly water increases blood circulation and releases endorphins, boosting your mood and making you more productive.5 Try it befone: A day with lots of meetings Delay Checking Emails Until You Tackle A Pending Task Waiting until you've ticked something significant off your to-do list will help you avoid distractions and short-term problems first thing in the morning. Try it lefone: Returning to work after a long weekend or holiday Turn Your Devices on Airplane Mode for A Few Hours Studies show that people who block distractions can focus for significantly longer and are more productive." Try it befone: A big deadline 3214 675 8 10 Count Your Breaths Researchers found a clear relationship between workplace mindfulness and job performance. A quick mindfulness exercise relieves stress and can be done at your workstation. Close your eyes, relax and sit upright. Try it before: Focus on your breathing: inhale, exhale; inhale, exhale. Dealing with a dissatisfied Count silently to 10 over and over for up to 10 minutes. client Keep A Daily Journal Tuesday u nesday Writing in your journal allows you to process your experiences and activates the left-side of your brain, improving your memory and comprehension of concepts. 9 Write in detail about one positive experience you've had during the past 24 hours. Try it before: ................................... Memorizing a presentation 2 Bullet point each detail you can remember. Take A Five Minute Break 6 After 25 Minutes of Work Frequent breaks keep your mind fresh and focused. This forces you to adhere to strict timing and can spur you on to wrap up your current task. 10 Try it before: Tackling your to-do list Use A Few Minutes of Your 7 Lunch Break to Meditate A study published by the JAMA Network showed that meditation helps ease psychological stress," while University Of Washington research found that it also makes you a better multitasker.12 Place your hands on your lap. III Starting with your pinky fingers, tap one finger on each hand at a time. Synchronize your left and right hands and move through each finger. Try it before: Recite one word in a five- word mantra for every tap. Try “release, peace, tranquility, love, joy." Multitasking Do A 5-Minute Workout 8. Exercise gives you more physical and mental energy throughout the day by stimulating the development of new mitochondria within your cells. This allows your body to produce more ATP-its energy carrier-over time.13 Alternate 20 seconds high knees with 10 seconds rest for 3 sets. Do 15 reps each of squats and pushups. Rest 30 seconds and repeat. 3 Finish the workout with 15 jumping jacks. Try it before: Pitching an idea to your boss Come Back to 9. Your Body Simple body movements like grounding your feet help center you. Practice this short ritual everyday and you'll find yourself responding more calmly in stressful situations.1+ Breathe deeply. Feel the ground beneath your feet, Try it before: A 3 Flex your fingers and toes. Delivering some challenging news to a colleague 4 Close and open your eyes a few times. As you can see, there are many ways to harness the power of the ritual to boost your performance at work. Which one will you try? SOURCES 'Hobson, N., Bonk, D. Inzlicht, M. (2017) Rituals decrease the neural response to performance failure, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov zWood Brooks, A., Schroeder, J. et, al. (2016). Don't Stop Believing: Rituals Improve Performance by Decreasing Anxiety. hbs.edu 3National Institute of Mental Health. (2016). Anxi Disorders. nim nih.gov *PWC. (2017). One in three UK employees are working with anxiety, depression or stress, pwc.co.uk SGayomali, G. (2017). The Scientific Case For Cold Showers. fastcompany.com 6Hougaard, R., Carter, J. (2016). How to Practice Mindfulness Throughout Your Work Day. mindful.org "Mark, G., Iqbal, S. Czerwinski, M. (2017) How blocking distractions affects workplace focus and productivity. researchgate.net BVardy, M. (2016). Writing a journal can make you more productive, theglobeandmail.com "Purcell, M. (2017). The Health Benefits of Journaling. psychcentral.com 10Cummings. T. (2017). The Pomodoro Technique: Is It Right For You? lifehack.org 1"Goyal. M., Singh, S. Sibanga, E (2014). Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being. jamanetwork.com 12Levy. D.. Wobbrock. J. et. al. (2012). The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation Training on Multitasking in a High-Stress Information Environment. washington.edu 13Steiner, J. Murphy. E. (2011). Exercise Training Increases Mitochondrial Biogenesis in the Brain. physiology.org 14Shanbhag. A. (2014). 8 Daily Rituals You Can Create To Boost Your Geeky Productivity. makeuseof.com This image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike POUNDPLACE Start Saving Today 4.0 International License - www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 BY SA