Posted 27/09/2017

Where is your productivity hotspot?

Where do you feel most inspired to be at your most productive for work?

I talk about remote working a lot – it’s how I conduct the bulk of my business and it keeps things varied and interesting for me. I firmly believe that not being chained to a desk from 9-5 Monday to Friday helps with my productivity and motivation.

I work in all manner of places and am adaptable to noise or silence, calm or chaos. For me, there’s no one sweet spot for productivity as I rarely stay in one place for more than a couple of hours. I travel frequently – within the UK and internationally – and I’m inspired by different things along the way.

I might take inspiration for my work from sitting on a beautiful beach with my family watching the sunset. I can soak in the magic of the atmosphere and know that we have got there through hard work and dedication and for that, I can reward the family with a holiday. As you’ll know from my recent blog, I don’t switch off while on holiday but continue to check in and “think business” the whole time.

At other times I’ll feel inspired when I’m surrounded by work colleagues and like-minded people. So following a meeting with one of the companies I support, I will have a flurry of activity and inspiration which in turn boosts my productivity levels.

I’m also involved with a number of charities on various levels, and I take inspiration from their stories and successes which gets me motivated. For my own charitable work (like running 40 marathons in 40 days) I try to put myself in the shoes of those in need. For example the CEO Sleepout is a useful tool to help others get motivated to do something that can make a difference.

I am also fortunate to have struck the right note with managing work with my personal life. Among other things, I can often be found supporting my son playing rugby, while continuing with business commitments where I’ve had to call into a conference to tie up a business deal while standing on the sidelines during a match. Seeing my son getting stuck into his passion makes me so proud and gives me a mental boost which increases productivity greatly.

The scenarios above are work/life integration functioning at its best. And working in this way is, for me, totally inspiring, and it drives me to work productively and efficiently.

Where do you feel most inspired to be at your most productive for work? Some people struggle to work from home and prefer the buzz of the office environment. For others, it’s quiet time at home that leads to high levels of productivity. A combination of the two can work wonders.

The beauty of the working world today is that, for a lot of industries, technological developments allow us to work from any location at any time. So we can adapt our surroundings to suit our current mood – and therefore impact our productivity.

Flexible working is a buzz topic right now and when we have perfected the art of work/life integration it can – and perhaps should – become standard working practice. The 9-5 model is outdated and becoming irrelevant. Ask any Millennial their views and they are likely to agree.

Have a look at your work and personal life scenarios and have a think about how combining the two might make for increased productivity. I can pretty much guarantee you will feel the benefits by mixing things up a bit and getting on board with the model of work/life integration. It is the way forward, embrace the change!

My new book “Live, Love, Work, Prosper” will teach you more about this model and is available to preorder on Amazon here. It’s the way forward for managing work and life in harmony!

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