Written by Zoë Deshong, Marketing Intern
As summer begins and daily temperatures rise, it may be much more difficult to stay focused at the office. No matter how much you enjoy your work, you may start daydreaming about being at the beach or on a tropical vacation instead of stuck at your desk. However, with some adjustments to your daily routine, working during the summer may not seem so bad after all!
- Get enough sleep. Hopefully, you’re doing this already, but in case you aren’t, summer is a good time to improve your sleeping habits. Make sure you head to bed early enough to feel well-rested during work the next day. Late-night marathons of your favorite TV show are always fun until you’re at work the next day and can’t focus because you got too little sleep.
- Make sure to eat breakfast. It’s often said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day — this is especially true on days you have to go to work. Working on an empty stomach will have you watching the clock until lunch instead of focusing on what you’re supposed to be doing. Eat a healthy and filling breakfast that will hold you over until lunch.
- Dress for the weather. If you don’t have any work-appropriate outfits for the summer, you should definitely invest in new clothes. The outfits you’ve been wearing in the winter and spring may be stifling and uncomfortable to wear during the summer, which will make you feel miserable as the day goes on. Adjusting your work attire to the weather can make you feel much more comfortable, which will increase your productivity. Just make sure to not stray too far away from your company’s dress code. (Extra tip: If you work in an office that uses air-conditioning, make sure to wear a layered outfit that you can adjust to the temperature of your current environment.)
- Finish your most important tasks first. When you first get into the office, the temperature will probably be more bearable than later on in the day, when temperatures will be their peak. Use this to your advantage — finish as many of the important and time-sensitive tasks as you can early on in your day. Later on, when you’re likely to get distracted and antsy due to the hotter weather, you can relax a bit by working on lower priority tasks that will be easier for you to finish.
- Find an opportunity to get some fresh air. Just because you’re working doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the beautiful weather at all. Eat your lunch outside or take a five or ten-minute walk outside the building when you feel your productivity slipping. Planned a meeting? If your office has outdoor seating, hold it outside — your coworkers will be very grateful. Even just opening the windows while you’re at your desk can make a big difference in your morale. Exposure to the sunshine and having a bit of physical activity during your day will make you feel refreshed and ready to take on your work when you get back to it.
- Drink less coffee and more water. While you should be drinking water daily all year long, staying hydrated in the hot and humid summer months is particularly important for your health. Take advantage of the water cooler or fountain at your office or bring in a water bottle from home to stay hydrated while working. While going on a run for a sweetened iced coffee may be more tempting than ever during the summer, caffeine is a diuretic and will actually dehydrate you even further, which will make your energy decrease on a sweaty summer day. Sugar intake may also make you feel more energized and awake at first, but the eventual crash a few hours later will kill your productivity for the rest of the day.
- Don’t get distracted by social media. Seeing pictures on Facebook and Instagram of your friends and family on vacation may be the final blow to your morale while you’re working hard in the office. Try to stay away from your personal social media accounts during work unless it’s truly necessary for you to contact someone. Scrolling through your news feed can wait until you leave work for the day!
From everyone at InStream, we hope you have a happy and productive summer!
