Any business knows that productivity is key to growth, let alone staying afloat. Whether you are talking about a production line, a traveling salesperson, and yes even your office space; productivity is going to be the main driving factor which will allow your business to not only stay in business, but also experience growth year over year, month over month.

Here we are going to describe 23 ways to improve office productivity which will in turn allow you to realize higher profits, more output, and less money being wasted to lost productivity.

First on the list? Improving office productivity through computer applications:

Science proves that taking more breaks allows us to be more productive.

How does that work if we technically will have less “work time” by taking all these breaks?

It gives us time to collect our thoughts, time to let our mind roam, and even some time to talk and bounce ideas off of others.

So, instead of making employees hate working because you limit them to one break a day; let them take a short one every hour or two and watch the ideas and productivity outputs increase!

Not only should you be organizing your desk, but also the entire office.

A cleared out area allows for a clear mind to work at much higher levels of clarity. Whether you have a cubical office design or a more open concept; requiring all areas of the office to be clear on either a weekly or daily basis should be a must.

Sure, not everyone likes to clear. But, if you give employees 10-15 minutes to clean their area at the end of every day I’m sure most people will be happy to do so (especially if you explain it is part of your initiative to improve productivity in the office)!

Some people have a habit of checking their email every 10 minutes while they are waiting for someone important to get back to them.

In reality, the likelihood of them replying back right away even if you get back to them quick is slim. On top of that, it seems down right desperate.

By implementing 2-3 time periods (again, depending on the department) that people should check their email; you will end the constant refreshing of email pages by a lot of your work force. This allows people to get back to work and pay much more attention to their work at hand.

There can be multiple things wrong with your lighting system that might be throwing off people in the office.

First of all, if you have fluorescent lights then you might just have a few (or a lot) of lights in your office that flicker or even worse, buzz. This can cause eye stress, annoyance, and a general distraction.

On top of that, you may have either an under-lit or over-lit office. Both are bad, and it’s up to you to find the optimal light output for your office. This can be done by surveying employees on your lighting system and going from there.

Lastly, low quality light can be an issue. An easy way to not only improve the quality of light but also get rid of flickering and buzzing light issues is by upgrading your reduce your energy usage by up to 30% or so. Sounds like a win-win situation here!

Not only will they help with productivity, but they will also clean the air of toxins which will keep the air fresh and not-so-stuffy.

Stop making it so difficult to get around. Make it easy to get to the bathroom, to the trash, or even to an outlet.

Time is money, and if people are having to spend time just to get to the most basic things you aren’t setting up your office for success (literally).

Using office design to increase productivity can be difficult, sure. But it doesn’t have to be all that complex. You could even get some people together to brainstorm what could be done to best optimize the space you have to best serve efficiency in the office. So while there will never be the “best office design for productivity” hack or tip (due to all offices being different), you can always use some general guidelines and common sense to help you out.

Wherever the noise may be coming from, while it may not effect everyone it may be effecting some people.

Now, this can be an easy fix if the noise is coming from within the office. To solve this issue, all you need to do is address the area of concern and fix it. But, what if the noise is coming externally on a frequent basis?

Well, you can do either of two things. Firstly, you can try to address or confront the external noise producer and see if there is anyway for it to stop at least during your time of work. If that doesn’t work, then you might need to install sound proofing technology into your walls. This can get pricey sure, but you’ve got to weight the benefits of having less noise in the office versus the cost it is going to be to make the upgrade.

Although you might think that you won’t be able to get everything in if you shorten meetings, you would be mistaken!

In fact, having shorter meetings make them much more focused and thus; more productive. Even if you have two meetings over one a week because they are shorter, it is much better to have two 10 minute meetings over one 30 minute one that lacks purpose.

On top of that, do you really need to have a meeting? Or, are you just holding meetings to “have a meeting?” If it is the latter, try scheduling meetings only when they are needed, rather just out of habit.

Looking for ways to motivate the office into getting stuff done? 43Folders.com and it’s a simple concept: work for ten minutes, break for 2, then repeat this 5 times (or an hour).

You might say, “are you mad?! No way I’ll let my employees take a break every 10 minutes.” But here it out…

Maybe you shouldn’t implement this tactic specifically, but make a variation that works for your needs but still allows for productivity to be most optimal. And yes, there will be times when extreme concentration is required for more than 10-20 minutes, and obviously this doesn’t have to be a “set in stone” type deal. Instead, make it a generally accepted practice to partake in such method of break and work balancing.

(We already talked about more breaks in #3, but we thought this hack was worthy of its own).

Have you ever listed a job listing opportunity with one of the qualifications as “multitasking?” If so, you’ve got it all wrong. In fact, you should be listing a qualifications as “the ability to be laser focused on one thing at a time.”

Multitasking Parkinson’s law” in short says that we will fill whatever time is allotted to complete a given task.

Why do you think people with a 3 month deadline to get a presentation done still find themselves struggling to get it ready to go last minute? Because they will fill the entire time they are given to finish it. This goes with any task, and if you shorten the time allotted to finish tasks you will see more getting done because people will work to fill the allotted time given.

This of course can be used too far and not given enough time to get things done with all the proper due diligence required. Finding a good balance of long enough but not TOO long will be difficult, but start looking into deadlines and what exactly defines how far out they get set and start thinking about setting shorter (yet still doable) deadlines.

Studies show that standing will not only improve health, but it will also improve productivity. Focus goes up and thus more work can get done.

call center workers showed that pollution in the office reduced productivity levels. As you can imagine, pollution is a major issue in a lot of places, especially in bigger cities.

83.6 million sleep deprived people are shuffling around the U.S. at any given moment – so it makes sense that businesses are investing in products and technologies that focus on ways to get a good night’s rest.

When recent update to iOS 9.3 introduced Night Shift, a feature that takes its cues from the sun (or more specifically, your device’s clock and geolocation) to gently shift the color temperature of your display to the warmer end of the light spectrum at night which may help you get a better night’s sleep.

This spring you may be feeling the itch to update your home. As spring dawns, it is normal to get that spring fever or feel the need to clean things up. The condition is often referred to as spring cleaning and homeowners everywhere are cleaning out the garages, adding a fresh coat of paint to the deck and revamping the interior of their homes. One way to transform your home is by having a home lighting upgrade with the help of an electrician in Burbank. The team at The Electric Connection are here to help you satisfy your spring makeover urges and can help you get the lighting scheme of your dreams.

One of the lighting options you have is recessed lighting. This is the latest trend in home building. It is an ideal option for many reasons.

*Can be installed on any ceiling whether it is pitched or completely flat *The recessed lights make the room look bigger in general

A Burbank electrician can install the lights where you want them. If you have a fireplace mantle or a particular piece of artwork you would like to highlight in a room, the lights can be placed so those items are highlighted. The lights are very easy to install and can be placed pretty much anywhere, including under the stairs, hallways and even on the covered patio.

Another bonus to recessed lighting is the ability to customize the outer trim. You can opt for a shiny silver trim that will reflect the light or add a splash of color to the room with a uniquely colored trim. All of these options can be discussed with your electrician. Burbank homeowners don’t have to limit their lighting to the boring typical fixtures of 20 years ago. Give The Electric Connection a call today and upgrade your home’s lighting and give it a whole new look.

The electricity you use to power your home is most likely generated by burning coal, with some nuclear and natural gas-fueled current in the mix for good measure. However, that could all be changing, and faster than anyone expected. While renewable fuel sources like solar and wind power make up only a small part of the nation's electrical grid today, wind could actually be the leading source of electricity in little more than three decades.

Viable and Competitive

Wind could surpass other sources and provide as much as a third of the United States’ electricity by 2050, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind and Water Power Technologies office. Wind currently weighs in at only 4.5 percent of the supply, but if projections hold, that will increase to 10 percent by 2020 and 20 percent by 2030.

“The wind industry can be characterized by the substantial growth of domestic manufacturing and the level of wind deployment seen in recent years,” José Zayas, director of the DOE Wind and Water Power Technologies office, said to EcoWatch. “Wind power systems are now seen as a viable and competitive source of electricity across the nation. Wind power’s emerging role is an important option in a portfolio of new energy solutions for future generations.”

Benefits to Public Health, Environment

Should the prediction of wind's dominance come to pass, it would have numerous benefits for the environment and for consumers. Even at current levels, wind has reduced water consumption by 36.5 billion gallons and carbon emissions by 115,000,000 metric tons compared to traditional power sources, according to the government.

That means a lot less carbon getting released into the atmosphere, helping to slow our contribution to climate change. Plus, once the infrastructure is built, wind is free to harvest, and doesn't have the same environmental tradeoffs as coal and natural gas. The benefits “can address key societal challenges such as climate change, air quality and public health, and water scarcity,” the report said.

Uncertainties Looming

The rosy projection is just that. There are numerous uncertainties that could affect how well wind power actually does in the future, including government policies to incentivize wind or decentivize coal usage, the supply and price of natural gas, and the demand for electricity overall in the United States.

The technology around wind generation will have to hold its own as well. Growth in market share depends on continued advances in efficiency, more transmission capacity and better weather forecasting so we can best take advantage of favorable gusts.

Global Optimism

Should the growth of wind continue as predicted, there could be hope for a cleaner, healthier future. And what's good for the United States can be good for the rest of the world as well.

“The global energy market of the future is poised to be the largest market the world has ever known,” Secretary of State John Kerry said in a speech about wind power. “Pursuing cleaner, more efficient energy is actually the only way that nations around the world can build the kind of economies that are going to thrive for decades to come.