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Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Tips to Boost Performance and Productivity at Work Place

The noted sports commentator and IIM A alumnus Harsha Bhogle had once remarked: “With a project deadline dangling over our heads, we waste time when there is ample of it available like nobody else in the world and yet in the closing days we work hard to get work done like nobody else in the world.” The statement may appear subversive if not paradoxical. At Ishan Institute of Management & Technology, one of the top PGDM Colleges in Delhi NCR, the academic team presents before you this short piece where we have put forward some time tested tips on performance and productivity management at the work place.

Early Bird Catches the Worm
This may sound like good old parental advise but there is real business behind it. Many Indians are catching up with the unhealthy lifestyle of waking up to the snooze button and a steaming cup of coffee. It is advised to start the day with a shower and a light breakfast. Moreover there is scientific evidence available that asserts that the production of cortisol a hormone that promotes alertness hikes between 8am and 9am, i.e 30-45 minutes after waking up. The time preceding 8am-9am therefore can be used to enhance creativity, think and reflect on out of the box solutions to existing challenges and ideate brilliantly on campaigns that require the leveraging of innovations.

Dealing with Emails and Morning Blues
It is advised that emails that require a respondent to think and then reply should be sent straight away at and after 6 am in the early morning. A research by the digital marketing company Hubspot shows that emails that are sent at 6am have higher open rates. The time before leaving for workplace is not ideal for answering emails at length but a great time to read emails.

Innovate and Ideate on the Go
It has been asserted that innovation is inverse proportional to alertness. Even before one reaches the workplace and while on the go, alertness is found to be down and out. This is the time that can be used to do the thinking part.

Start the Day Firing on All Cylinders
There is more physiology to explain the alertness levels and focus at work place. Most adults do their best focussed work in the late morning. A rise in the body temperature brings agility to the mind, enables focus and concentration and thus gives a boost to alertness. This is the time to rush through the toughest part of the day at work place and slog through the things that are important and call for the long haul. A generous dose of caffeine can really help to propel you.

A Power Lunch Break
It has been observed that alertness dips soon after the mid day. People should ideally not work during the lunch break. This means that people should ideally take a long break from work during the lunch hour. A real break means going for a walk around the campus, some leisure reading, catching up with news in the canteen of the workplace or perhaps a meditative break.

The Second Caffeine Dose
The most sluggish part of the day is post afternoon. Productivity dips after 2.30pm and this is the perfect time to move to the coffee vending machine or the workplace kitchen for a second dose of caffeine. Yet another leading digital marketing company Mailchimp says that this is yet another peak time for reading emails. Most people even on field jobs are found at their desks at and after 2.30pm and thus it makes sense to hold short online meetings with them over Skype and send emails that solicit adequate response from respondents.

Hit the Gym in the Evening Hours
The American Heart Association points out that lung capacity and muscle strength are at their peaks after 6 pm. One should truly consider hitting the gym at this time or at any point after returning from office. Many Indians tend to substitute this with a stint before the television which is not advised at all. Apart from keeping the physique lean and mean there is a necessity to delete the memories of the day at the workplace-good or bad. While there is no reset button for the human hard disk, even a 10 minute focus on the treadmill or the jogger can be of great benefit in reducing the clutter accumulating in the brain.


At Ishan Institute of Management & Technology, PGDM and MBA students are put into a system that consists of a regular academic curriculum that resembles the rush hour at the work place followed by dedicated session of yoga, meditation and power training at the gym. The on campus housing is designed for a corporate lifestyle.