7 Workspace Items That Are Making You Unproductive

Posted on January 29, 2018

No matter how smart, skilled, or experienced you happen to be, professional success just isn’t possible if you’re unable to make productive use of your time. Developing productive habits might not earn you a fancy degree or an attractive certificate to hang on your wall. But those habits can power you through decades of success.

But here’s the thing: productivity doesn’t just depend on our habits. We’re human beings. Our environment shapes our behavior. Sometimes, that means that the biggest obstacles to our productivity are hiding in plain sight.

That’s the case with the seven items listed below. To the untrained eye, these items might seem like functional, everyday office products. But for many workers, they’re productivity kryptonite in disguise.

Items That Can Make Your Workspace Less Productive

  1. Your Work Chair. People talk about workspace ergonomics with a focus on comfort and well-being. But ergonomics are just as critical to your productivity. If your work chair isn’t designed for healthy posture, your work performance will slouch.
  2. Your Keyboard & Mouse. The position and design of your keyboard and mouse are almost as important as your chair for workspace ergonomics. Don’t forget other key factors, like the height of your desktop and the position of your computer monitor.
  3. Your Pictures. One or two pictures on your wall or your desk can be healthy for your work-life. But when you’ve got enough pictures to start a small gallery, you’re practically daring yourself to get distracted.
  4. Your Desk Caddy. Workspace experts say that you should only keep items that you use every day on your desktop. Any more, and you’ll start to create unnecessary clutter.
  5. Your Computer Desktop. Stop littering your computer’s desktop and taskbar with shortcuts for half the applications and files on your hard drive. Minimalism’s popular for a reason — it’s clean, it’s attractive, and it minimizes as many distractions as possible
  6. Your Desk Lamp. Lighting is another one of those seemingly unimportant design choices that has a big impact on worker performance. Natural light is best for workers’ mood and productivity, but if you can’t move your desk next to a window, a great desk lamp is essential.
  7. Your Smartphone. Your smartphone might be the least surprising item on this least, but it earned that distinction for a reason. Most of us spend our time away from work glued to our phones, and it’s hard to break the habit just because you’re on the clock. If you can’t keep your fingers off your screen by force of will alone, consider downloading an app-blocking app. That way, you can lock yourself out from your biggest time-wasting apps while leaving the apps you need for work still available.

Contact the professionals at JAN-PRO today for all of your office cleaning needs!