Follow These 7 Tips To Manage A Long Work Day!

Many young enthusiasts who are determined t make a sound career in their respective field, do not mind working 12 to 14 hours a day. The long hours enriches them with the greater experience and they learn the nuances of the business. More the time spent in a profession, more expertise acquired on it.

But, sometimes working long hours is not a choice, it is a necessity, for many reasons.

In both the cases, managing those excruciating hours often seems like an ordeal.

For those who are entangled in the web of long working hours, out of choice or as a stipulation, here are a 7 workable tips to help you manage the 12-14 hours work day.

First of all, let us try and establish, the situations in which a professional is expected to work 12-14 hours a day:

• When they are starting up as a freelancer
• When they are starting up a new business
• When a professional is on stringent deadlines
• When someone is trying to make-up for lost time due to low efficiency or being sick
• There is a business season which will last for only a few weeks
• Took up too many tasks, not realizing that it will longer than expected to finish

So these are the usual circumstances, in which an executive or a business person is working long hours.

Now, keeping these in the view, let us discuss how to manage long work day efficiently.

1. Take Short But Regular Breaks

No matter how important task you are on, squeeze in a breather of few minutes after every 1-2 hours. Get off your chair, sip on a glass of water, take a small walk, look out at the flowing scene outside the window or simply grab a coffee. I do understand that sometimes it seems impossible to leave the table if you are in the middle of a creative thought process or something that is really into the flow. But trust me, if you start following this practice, you will realize a fresh flow of ideas and your job in hand will eventually take a lot lesser time than anticipated. Use you mobile phone to put break alarms, both for break on and break off times.

2. Never Eat On Your Working Table or Platform

Usually, when are on a closed 12-14 hours schedule, we tend to grab the lunch or dinners on the working table and gobble it for the heck of it. Do not do that! When you need a good nutritional refill every 2-3 hours while working for those loner durations, you also need a quality eating time, so that the satisfaction of eating is felt and you get back to work, with much more than just stomach full. Also, use this opportunity to get away from your work platform to explore and connect with colleagues; you never know what comes as  reward of those eating times.

3. Workout For More Productivity

None can deny that working out, in general makes the mind and body more productive and energetic. And when you are in a long hours work schedule, where you are on a sitting job normally, it is very important to replenish the lost energies, and working our is the best option for that. Make 15-30 minutes time for cycling, gymming, tennis, swimming or any other exercise that pleases you. You will see the enormous benefits of these 15-30 minutes spent sweating, when you return to work the next day. The productivity will increase many folds.

4. Make Alternative Working Your Habit

If your job involves 2-3 different activities, such as being on the laptop, writing notes, drawing or making phone calls, make sure you take turns on these activities alternatively. Do not stretch on one for more than 30 minutes. Switch to other after every half hour and come back to the previous one later. You must also look for alternative ways to do what is required. For example, when I am writing long hours and I need to brainstorm on an article, I switch on my recorder and go for a small walk, That way, I am away from my laptop and continuous typing, yet, working on my writing. Many of my brilliant ideas have taken birth away from the keyboard.

5. Waking Up Early And Sleeping As Early As Possible

No matter how long hours are you working, it is important to sleep early and get up early too. Ask why? Early hours of the morning are the most productive hours, and if you are not making good use of them, chances are you will get stuck in a pattern of working late forever. When you start a day too late, you tend to work till late to make up for the loss. Moreover, earlier hours of the day give a lot more for each hour worked. It could feel a bit hard to get up an hour or two earlier, but after a week or two of practicing it you will find it a lot easier. The morning hours are usually a bit quieter too, so the possible distractions are fewer. By trying this you could be more efficient and get your evenings off to socialize, relax and get ready for next day.

6. Choose To Work In Different Environment

When you are working 12-14 long hours, a single working arena gets too monotonous and boring which certainly affects the mental and physical efficiency. You must try and  change your environment every alternative day. A coffee shop, a client’s office, a friend’s house are good options to explore if you wish to. Not only will you get to switch chairs and surroundings, but you can also get new energy and creativity from the change.

7. Keep Official Work And Personal Work Totally Separate

If you are working 12-14 hours, do not keep any of those hours for grocery shopping online or making personal phone calls. Make the best of each official working hours so that you can cut those short, when you are actually able to utilize each minute productively. Keep aside few hours during weekends for the personal errands and make sure you do not touch official work then.

8. Keep Your Office Space Presentable And Appealing To You

The space, surroundings and colors make a profound effect on you. Therefore, make sure your office space or your working station at home is inviting enough. Moreover, for the creative brains, lighter and brighter colors are always a better choice to induce creativity. Keep your desk clutter free, which will make it easier for you work at, to find your things easily and it will keep your brain peaceful too. Keep the lights and temperature in the room mild and good enough to endure for long hours. Make sure it’s a room that you enjoy being in for utterly long hours, if the need be.

Let’s Conclude Now

Hoping that these tips have given you a way to deal with and manage a 12-14 hours long working day. Use them and work absolutely stress-free.