3 simple ways to edit your workday and boost your productivity

Do you attack work with a mindful, purposeful strategy, or is each day more of a “survive and advance” situation?

If you tend be a water-treading, box-ticking hoop-jumper who can never quite emerge from the weeds, try these ideas to gain workday traction—and hopefully satisfaction.

Limit time spent on email and social media. Many people start each day with a SWAT-team sweep of their Outlook apparatus—and then just keep that inbox open all day. If you’re consistently bombarded by notifications, consider the findings of NYU prof Adam Alter, who says it takes “25 minutes to get into the zone of maximum productivity after checking your emails.”

Less email perusing is more, according to University of Columbia researchers, who suggest three check-ins per day to reduce stress.