Many of us dream of working less while earning more money. At first glance, this seems like a paradox - but it is quite achievable by increasing labor efficiency. We talked to experts about several simple ways to reduce labor costs while increasing your financial well-being.

Tip 1. Work remotely

Using your working time effectively is a good way to improve your financial performance. Determine what factors are distracting for you and prevent you from achieving your work tasks to the maximum. Try to minimize their influence and, if possible, eliminate it. Clearly allocate the time allocated for completing specific tasks. It may seem very cumbersome at first, but in the process this method disciplines and allows you to quickly achieve a significant increase in labor efficiency. Labor efficiency is higher, less time is spent, you can get more done in a working day, and therefore earn more.

Maxim Sundalov, head of the online English language school EnglishDom: “As the head of a startup, work takes up my whole life. Even if I don’t work in the office, don’t hold meetings or meetings, don’t communicate with colleagues, I’m still mentally immersed in finding the most effective and interesting solutions that will move the business forward. But if you want to rearrange your schedule and free up more free time, try to get rid of “time wasters” during the working day: watch social networks less, check your email not every half hour, but for example 3-4 times a day. When holding meetings, set a time barrier - no more than an hour, for example. After this period, the attention of the meeting participants is still unfocused and the effectiveness of the meeting is minimal. Determine 2-3 priority tasks during the day, do not scatter your efforts. Don’t stay at work after the end of the working day if you are not busy with a specific task, if you feel that you are too tired to do anything useful.”

Elena Britova, academic manager of the TransLink-Education company, speed reading and memory development coach: “If, for example, writing a report takes you two hours, then first try to reduce this time by at least 15 minutes, then by another 15, and until you reduce the time to complete the same task to a minimum. We have a “built-in alarm clock,” and if we set it for an hour, it will ring exactly in an hour. For all tasks that you perform from time to time, reduce the time. Do everything right the first time, this significantly saves time and effort. Reduce communication channels during work. And especially communication on social networks. It’s better not to open them at all during work.”

Tip 3. Increase labor costs

Many of us do not think that time is a valuable financial resource, and we need to use it as productively as possible. Determine for yourself the current cost of 1 hour of your work and compare it with the desired figure. In most cases, the difference will be impressive. Think about how you can sell your time at a higher price; perhaps, from the range of all tasks performed, it is worth highlighting only those that bring you more money.

Inna Igolkina, CEO of the training company Timesaver: “First you need to understand how much money you earn per hour. For those who work in an office, you need to take the amount of income for the month, divide it by 20 working days and 8 hours. If you sell your labor by the hour, then you already know this amount; if you don’t know, take the amount of income and divide by the total number of hours that you had to work. The answer to the question is to sell your labor at a higher price whenever possible. For example, a translator receives an average of $10 per hour for work, and an English teacher receives $20. The designer can take on the job under the same conditions, or he can sell the order more profitably, but in both cases the same amount of time and effort will be required (if the work is of the same type, for example, drawing a logo without special requirements).”

Tip 4. Use modern technologies

The development of technology offers many interesting opportunities for automating work and, accordingly, increasing its efficiency. This does not work equally well in all areas, but, in any case, it’s worth thinking: what can be done to speed up this or that production process without losing quality indicators?

Inna Igolkina: “Sometimes automation helps. For example, a photographer can manually process each photo before giving it to the client, or he can spend 10-15 minutes studying, write a special macro (a small program that automatically performs the necessary actions on a photo) and receive finished photographs without spending extra effort for unnecessary work."

Victoria Zaborskaya, CEO, Staya: “To work less, you need to work more efficiently. Arrange work so that the maximum number of tasks are automated and customized. This includes mail in which you can upload response templates and with which you can connect your calendar and the calendar of your colleagues, CRM systems that allow you to manage project work even remotely, sites and systems that provide the necessary and up-to-date information about the current situation on market, in the industry, in the right issues.”

Tip 5. Work as a team

To perform some complex tasks, the work of one person is not enough. Even if you work with full dedication, but your colleagues do not, the result will not be effective. Therefore, it is important to choose the “right” people who will work equally with you, performing the tasks assigned to them. Even if this is remote work, the principle of effective cooperation has not been canceled.

Victoria Zaborskaya: “It is necessary that interested and professional colleagues work with you. In a team where people love their work, issues are resolved quickly and efficiently, rather than being passed on to each other, while simultaneously holding 100+1 meetings. That is why, when searching for employees, I ask applicants about their future plans and goals. It’s important for me to know that a person wants to develop in this particular area of ​​activity and will work not only for a salary, but also to gain the necessary experience and competencies.”

The ability to effectively organize work is a guarantee of financial success and advancement.

Elena Britova: “Delegate, distribute, organize. “If you want it done well, do it yourself” is a proverb very beloved by many. My answer: “those who are lucky, they ride.” You don’t have to do everything yourself; know how to distribute responsibilities. In addition, for special tasks, there are specialists who will do it faster and better than you.”

Drawing up a clear plan and the ability to follow it is half the success of any business. If a person clearly understands the goal, sees the ways and methods of its implementation, and has sufficient resources to carry out these steps, he controls what is happening. At the same time, you need to remember that any plan is just a sketch that reflects your vision of the problem and personal priorities at a particular point in time. In the future, this vision may change; accordingly, the plan needs and can be adjusted, revised, and even retreated from it, if such a step is justified. A plan will help you achieve your goals faster, which means you can earn more in your free time.

Elena Britova: “Plan what can be planned. I like to make a plan for the year (global), then for six months (more detailed), then for the month (even more detailed), and for each day. I repeat, only what can be planned. There is no need to be fanatical about planning; leave room for chance.”

Value your time and organize your work process so that you can do everything at the scheduled time.

“If you work a lot, you get tired, but at the same time you are not satisfied with either the level of your salary or, in principle, the type of activity you are engaged in, change your job! Yes, this is radical, but if you hate what you are doing, you will consciously or subconsciously procrastinate, you will be involved in the process for a long time, you will be constantly distracted,” summarizes Elena Britova.

A specific example (one of a million possible) is below, at the end of the article. But first, a little introduction to better understand what the problem is and what the solution is. So read to the end, but first! The idea was presented by the magazine “I want my own business.” For those who want to gain more knowledge about small and medium-sized businesses, I recommend subscribing to the magazine. Entrepreneurial stories, stories of ordinary people, business plans and unusual points of view. All this is completed in a very high quality, beautiful gloss.

So what's the problem? The problem is in the templates! People are fed stereotypes that say they have to work hard and get little. Moreover, these templates are so rigid that they border on zombies. All this leads to the fact that many people want to work hard and get either a good salary, or create a small business where they have to work for ten people and get paid for two. This is considered normal, but no one can explain WHY! Why is this normal?

What is the result? As a result, we have a lot of very small enterprises, where 1-3 people work without vacations and an undeveloped economy as a whole. Do you really think that business is complicated and difficult to manage? That big business eats up its owner completely? Let's look at live examples.

How long does a small entrepreneur work? Usually a lot. Almost no days off or vacations. And at the same time he earns several thousand kilobucks a month. There are people who earn millions. Do they work 1000 times harder? Is it possible? Does the amount of work generate income? Or maybe it’s still the quality of thinking!?

Everyone probably knows the legendary Richard Branson, owner of the Virgin multi-company. So Branson has dozens of businesses that he owns. In which particular business does he work a lot? Think about it! He owns several dozen successful businesses, created many, bought some. But in which one exactly can he work a lot? How does his activity fit into the templates about entrepreneurship? Are they true? At the stage of formation, when everything is done from scratch, there can be many problems, but this is only until the first cash flow goes to the bank and the quality of thinking develops well enough to work little and earn a lot.

I once wrote an article on how to earn a lot, a lot of money (“I’ll tell you how to earn 2 million”). She contradicted public opinion too much. Fine! Today I will write a simpler idea. Let there be a little more work and a little less to earn. But it is still a much better business than most existing ones.

How to earn a lot but work little?

Do you know what the problem is with all the businesses that die? It's always sad when a lot of work and good ideas go down the drain. Fortunately, you can always draw conclusions and start again (personally, I went broke twice). So here it is. Do you know what the problem is? Few sales! If there are enough sales, then everything will be fine.

No matter how brilliant a private dentist or composer or anyone else may be, society will be left without his wonderful talent if the product of the talent is not well marketed. Ideas are important, production is important. But without sales, all this is dead. This is where most entrepreneurs have their weakest point and this is where it is worth addressing. We must provide the most useful services for society. This brings maximum profits. In order for the employee to have a salary, the entrepreneur to have a profit, the consumer to have a product, and the state to receive tax deductions, sales are needed.

What exactly and how to do it. In short, you need to find a good, useful product that is not selling well for some reason. Then you need to find the consumer who does not know or has the wrong idea about the product. And then you need to sell. You don’t have to produce, deliver, rent offices and deal with other headaches of a beginning entrepreneur. You just need to understand and do everything correctly.

Now, very specifically (here you can choose any product to suit your taste, color and scale). In order not to go far, let's take publishing houses. I used to publish a regional newspaper, now a federal magazine. It turns out that printing large circulations (and not only media, but almost any printing) in Moscow and delivering to remote cities is cheaper than printing there directly (I myself am not from Moscow). Moreover, you can do everything even cheaper if you print somewhere in Finland, China or Lithuania and other countries (be careful, there may be costs at customs). If you take this issue seriously, you can find the cheapest print with the same quality. Of course, this should not be an urgent print, because... Delivery from Moscow will take 7-10 days. But non-urgent orders in any city are through the roof.

What are we doing? We agree with the best printing house (in terms of price/quality ratio) that you will supply them with clients. For this you will receive a percentage of sales. You then negotiate with shipping companies to get exact timings and prices. That's all! Now you have a product. You didn’t need loans, there weren’t and won’t be hemorrhoids with personnel, business expenses and other difficulties. The product appears as if by magic within 2-3 days. You don't make your own markups! You just get a percentage, like a freelance sales manager.

Now we need to find a sale! To do this, you need to call all print media in different cities. And offer the highest quality at the lowest price. In many regions there is still no high-quality color printing in newspapers!!! A few hundred targeted calls - and you will have a customer base. You transfer them to the printing house and receive a REGULAR percentage of sales. After all, sales will occur monthly or at other intervals, but with frequency. And you don't have to do that much work. Even if you get only 5-10%, it will be tens of thousands from a large order (and you don’t need to deal with small ones). 10 clients will provide a regular cash flow of hundreds of thousands of rubles. You can also receive your percentage as an individual. person, or you can register as an individual entrepreneur and pay only 6% of income. In this way, a lot of products and services can be exported from the Capital to the regions or vice versa. Choose according to taste and color. I just ask you very much, do not distribute alcohol, cigarettes, financial pyramids and other dangerous things that promise the joy of life in exchange for life itself or illusory money in exchange for hard-earned money. Sell ​​products that solve problems and you'll be fine!

And don't forget to buy a magazine. He doesn't impose templates, he destroys them! Well, of course, the magazine shows various paths that lead to places where many want to go, but not many go. I wish you success on behalf of all the people who worked on I Want My Own Business magazine. Buy it - you won't regret it!

In modern gardening, it is customary to use several types of beds. The purpose of their arrangement, on the one hand, is to create optimal conditions for plants, and therefore to obtain maximum output from them. On the other hand, it reduces the amount of work and makes the work of the summer resident easier. The type of right bed makes a big difference when growing vegetables and herbs. By choosing and arranging it wisely, you can save soil moisture, increase the temperature of the soil or, conversely, prevent it from overheating in the summer. Even weeds are easier to fight in properly arranged beds. Which bed should you choose for your site? Our article will help you decide.

High raised beds

Unlike standard beds, which are at the same level as the vegetable garden, raised raised beds are raised above the soil level. Due to this, they warm up faster. Therefore, raised beds are effective in cool regions, especially for growing warm-season crops.

It is good to build such beds in areas with high groundwater levels, in low-lying areas and areas prone to flooding. Any raised beds above the soil level are very good for growing crops that are sensitive to diseases or root rot - cucumbers, onions, garlic.

The easiest way to arrange a high bed is a bulk one. It can be done using imported soil. To do this, just mark the bed with pegs and fill it with soil. If the soil is dense and heavy, then first you need to create a drainage layer - put thick branches, rough stems, stumps. And then pour in fertile soil. This method of arrangement requires material costs for the acquisition of soil.

The second method is more economically accessible, but more labor-intensive. To create a bed, you will need to lift some of the soil from the paths onto the bed. This will make the bed higher. If the soil is heavy, then you definitely need to make a drainage layer. If possible, you can put compost, turf turned down with grass, fallen leaves, and plant debris in the bottom layer of the bed. In this way, the issue of soil shortage can be partially resolved.

Advantages of raised raised beds

Raised beds have a number of advantages over traditional ones:

• They warm up faster in the spring, which means planting in such beds can begin earlier;
• During the season, the soil temperature in them is higher, so more heat-loving crops can be planted in the country;
• These beds are universal due to the fact that they are set up quickly enough; any crop can be planted on them. Perhaps only moisture-loving cabbage, which does not develop well in hot conditions, will feel unimportant in a high bed;
• In low-lying areas, in conditions of regular flooding, these beds will be ideal for growing plants. According to the principle of a high bed, a so-called “cushion” is laid for growing fruit trees in conditions of high groundwater levels;
• Raised beds allow you to grow vegetables in areas with low fertility, although this will require you to spend money on purchased soil.

Disadvantages of raised raised beds

Raised beds, in addition to their advantages, also have their disadvantages. In some cases, they are so significant that it is better to abandon the idea at the planning stage.

The biggest problem when arranging beds is where to get soil for them? Imported is expensive; if you use soil from paths, the beds will not be very high.

Another disadvantage of such a bed is its overheating and drying out of the soil in hot weather in the summer. To avoid this, you don’t need to make very high beds. Its optimal height is 20–30 cm. The issue of overheating and drying out of the soil can be resolved by mulching. Where to get mulch is a separate question.

In high beds without a border, during rain or watering, water rolls off and the soil is washed away.

High bulk beds are good to build in areas with high groundwater levels, in low-lying areas and areas prone to flooding. © Couri Center

High beds-boxes

Many of these disadvantages are absent in the improved version of high beds - the box bed. This is a high bed, fenced with some kind of material.

The process of creating a box bed is quite simple, the main thing is to stock up on the necessary materials. A box with a height of 15 to 70 cm is assembled at the place marked for the bed. To make the box, you can use boards, logs, slate, and brick.

To keep mice out, a fine mesh is placed at the bottom of the box. Then comes a layer of organic matter: branches, tops, foliage, humus. And a fertile layer of soil is poured on top - and the bed is ready.

Advantages of a high bed-box

Box beds in the spring are much better warmed up by the sun. This means that the planting season can begin much earlier. In addition, it is easier to secure the arches and tighten the covering material.

In beds built with materials that do not heat up so much in the sun (wood, brick, slate), moisture is retained better, which means it will be possible to water less often.

The “sides” of the beds protect the soil from erosion. The fencing of the bed clearly limits it, so that perennial weeds cannot enter the bed.

High box beds at the dacha are very convenient to work with: to plant and weed, you need to bend over less than in a traditional garden bed. There is no need for digging; just loosen the soil.

Such beds, if they are made with high quality, are beautiful and tidy, which is why they are used to create the so-called “beautiful vegetable garden.”

If desired, you can use a box bed to make a warm bed for growing very early greens or seedlings. To do this, soil is removed from the box and organic matter is laid in layers.

Disadvantages of a high bed-box

The main problem that stops summer residents is the need to purchase materials for arranging a garden bed. And also the lack of opportunity and skills to build the base of the structure.

You should always take into account that in extreme heat the beds can overheat. The solution is mulching the soil and choosing the right material. According to reviews from experienced gardeners, plants feel best in beds furnished with wood.

In raised beds, the soil can freeze very much in winter, so they are more suitable for annual plants. Such a bed needs to be mulched for the winter and, if possible, covered with snow. Even if there are no plants in it, beneficial microorganisms in the soil may die.

The process of creating a box bed is quite simple, the main thing is to stock up on the necessary materials. If desired, raised beds can be used to decorate the garden

Warm beds

Warm beds differ from ordinary ones in that they are based on organic materials, which, when decomposed, release significant amounts of heat. Therefore, warm beds are primarily suitable for regions with a cold climate, late spring and short summer. In the middle zone, these beds are ideal for growing heat-loving crops, early greens and even seedlings.

In addition to heat, as a result of biochemical processes, nutrients necessary for plants are formed, which can be used to grow plants that require fertility: cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin, tomatoes, peppers. Growing capricious eggplants is especially good in such beds.

The basic principle of creating a warm bed is that different types of organic materials are laid in layers. The lowest layer serves as drainage. This layer provides air access and removal of excess water, so stumps, thick tree branches, and rough plant stems are laid down. The higher, the less coarse the organic matter is laid down.

The second layer is usually plant and food waste, weeds, sawdust, and wood chips. The next layer is compost, humus, animal waste - biofuel, which, when decomposed, will be a source of heat. Next comes a layer of fertile soil. Each layer must be shed with water and compacted.

If the garden bed is being prepared in the fall, then it is better to cover it with film or covering material to prevent weed seeds from getting there.

In order for biochemical processes to proceed correctly, it is important to follow the following rules:

• do not plant plant residues with signs of disease;
• For proper air exchange, a drainage layer must be present;
• The bed must be kept moist (but not soggy).

Warm beds can be arranged in both spring and autumn. It’s more practical to do this in the fall: when the main work is done, you don’t have to rush. There are many plant residues that are needed in large quantities. By spring, such beds will be ready for use.

There are several options for warm beds. Depending on the nuances of the arrangement, they can be recessed, raised, or combined.

Recessed warm beds

You will need to dig a trench under the sunken bed, which then needs to be filled in layers with organic matter. As a result, the finished bed will be flush with the soil level. The peculiarity of using such a bed is that it will need to be watered less often compared to a raised bed. But it cannot be installed where water can stagnate.

Raised warm beds

There is no need to dig a trench under a raised bed; it is laid on the surface of the ground. This bed is the best option for cold, damp regions where there is a risk of flooding.

Bed-hill - This is a version of a raised bed without sides. This garden bed is very quick and easy to set up.

Combined warm beds

They are installed in a trench, their upper part is above the ground. The trench under such a bed needs to be dug 2 times shallower than under a buried one.

Caring for warm beds involves timely watering, loosening and weeding. In dry summers, in order to protect raised warm beds from drying out, it is advisable to mulch them.

The advantages of warm beds

• The gardening season in warm beds can begin earlier than usual. And, at the same time, growing plants can be extended by 2-3 weeks;
• You can rationally use the beds due to the possibility of growing early greenery or seedlings before planting the main crop. To do this, it is enough to install arcs with shelter. The result will be a mini-greenhouse.
• There is no need to dig up the soil; it is always loose due to the large amount of organic matter.
• In such beds, optimal conditions are created for heat-loving plants, which means their productivity increases.
• At its core, a warm bed is a kind of compost heap that contains the nutrients necessary for plants. Therefore, fertilizing with fertilizers can be kept to a minimum.
• In poor, infertile soil, you can create beds with good quality soil.
• This option for arranging a bed allows you to effectively use plant residues without creating a compost heap, as well as dispose of livestock waste.

Disadvantages of warm beds

• Arranging a warm garden bed at the dacha requires considerable effort, and in the case of making garden beds with sides, material costs are also required;
• Durability of use. The effect of a warm bed disappears after five years, when the process of rotting organic matter ends. In this case, it will be possible to make a bed in a new place. And if the bed is stationary, arranged in the form of a box, then it will be possible to remove the soil from it for use in another place, and re-arrange the warm bed, observing the same conditions.
• Mice love to live in warm beds, so before arranging the bed, you must stock up on a net with small cells and cover the base of the future bed with it.

Recessed beds

Such beds are also called low or sunken. The name speaks for itself. The main function of “low” beds is to save the soil from overheating and retain moisture. Therefore, they are suitable for regions with a hot, sultry climate, where droughts are very common, especially for areas with sandy or infertile soil that constantly dries out. Arranging such beds requires physical effort, so they are usually prepared in the fall, when the heat subsides.

The choice of location must be approached responsibly; even in the driest region, natural disasters may periodically occur. Therefore, the bed should not be arranged in low-lying areas of the site, where there may sometimes be excess water.

For arrangement, you need to dig a trench of the required length in the selected area. The width of such a bed will depend on whether the walls of the bed will be lined. If there are walls, then you need to add the thickness of the material to the desired width of the bed.

Brick, stone, cinder blocks, wooden boards, etc. can be used as fencing material.

• In order to prevent water from stagnating, on heavy soils you need to dig a trench, preferably 2 spade bayonets, at least. Next, you will need to arrange a good drainage layer. Construction waste, stumps, thick branches and other similar material are suitable for this;
• On poor soils also - the deeper the layer, the better. In a deep bed it will be possible to create a sufficient layer of fertile soil in which plants will be comfortable to develop;
• On sandy soils, in addition to sufficient depth, it is advisable to make a small clay layer at the bottom of the trench or lay out a covering material. This technique will help avoid problems with rapid leaching of nutrients and water outflow during irrigation.
• The last layer of the bed is filled with fertile soil depending on the type of soil. If the soil is heavy, sand and compost are added. If it is poor, infertile - compost, humus.
• After watering, the bed is left unattended for some time so that the soil settles, after which it can be used.

Caring for such beds involves timely watering and removing grass from between the rows.

As the bed is used, the soil in it can settle significantly. Then it will need to be added again. In very dry and hot times, the beds will need to be mulched in order to retain moisture as much as possible and avoid overheating of the plants.

Pros of deep beds

The arrangement of such beds, on the one hand, helps to create optimal conditions for growing plants in hot and dry regions. On the other hand, the gardener’s work is made easier by reducing watering.

Plants in more comfortable conditions will be able to produce greater yields, which means it will be possible to reduce the number of plants grown without compromising the harvest; in this case, labor costs are also reduced.

The construction of deep beds allows you to create conditions for growing plants on very poor, infertile soils. Of course, this requires significant physical effort, but on practically barren soils, these efforts are commensurate with the final result.

Disadvantages of deep beds

• The arrangement is labor-intensive, and in the version with sides you need to purchase material;
• If the surface of the bed is not level, then water may stagnate in the lowest place, so the bed is carefully leveled before planting or sowing;
• If the trench is not dug deep enough on heavy soils, the water may stagnate when watering, so you need to dig a deep trench and be sure to make a drainage layer.

Dear readers! As you can see, various options for arranging beds in a dacha can differ significantly in terms of design, crops recommended for planting in such beds, as well as regions of use.

Therefore, if someone says that raised or sunken beds are “super”, then do not rush to knock down boxes or dig. Be sure to analyze the characteristics of your site and soil and find your best option to make your work in the garden easier and achieve the highest yields.

Down with productivity! 9 Steps to Working Less and Getting More Done Robbins Stever

“Less work - more results”: a warning

However, I must warn you about something. To redo everything in a short time is wonderful, truly wonderful! But there is also a hidden dark side. If you're not careful, you'll end up working more more than before. And therefore it is important to understand how to avoid this.

There are many other things in life O items other than finished work. But you will never know about them if you are not careful. Once you start working less and getting more done, you will become more productive. Cool, right? Not really. We are told that if we become more productive, the economy will do much better and everyone will enjoy an ideal life in a land of abundance. The people who tell us this are our dark overlords. They brainwash us and we In fact we become more productive. The economy is booming, and it's all for the better, right? Yes and no. Unless you are the economy. But no, you are you.

From your point of view, everything looks different. Have you noticed that, having increased your productivity, you became less busy, but after a few months everything returned to normal? Or was it even getting worse?

You get more done in less time so you can enjoy better things in your free time, like getting eight hours of sleep. But for some reason you don’t have this free time.

Your boss is on alert. As soon as he notices that you have time to breathe in and out, he immediately loads you with new work. Or, even worse, you yourself can’t find a place for yourself and after the third deep breath, you’re feverishly wondering what else to do. Gradually, any improvement leads to new commitments. Your work system may allow you to do at least a dozen tasks simultaneously, but You you can not. High technologies have accelerated all processes in the world, and now we are not waiting for the world to catch up with human thought, but the world is waiting for us to catch up with it. Exactly We– limiting factor. (The machines have a good reason to rise up and destroy us.)

This book is only useful if you are willing to reap the rewards of your efforts. If you become more productive at what you do and then overload yourself with work, it's not a good thing. Pay close attention to the chapter on concentration. Once you start saving time, say “no” to anyone who wants to impose new obligations on you - even if this “anyone” is you.

Don't tell anyone unless you have to that you have more time. Continue to complain on occasion about how busy you are and how you never have as much free time as you would like. And then spend the saved hours on pleasant and important things that make life fuller.

In addition to this book, you can visit the website GetItDoneGuyBook.com, where you will find various techniques, information, books and other resources that will help you put everything you learn into practice. Once we all learn to work less and get more done, we'll take advantage of the energy and time we've saved to throw a killer party—complete with smoothies, chocolate ice cream cake, and celery stuffed with chickpea puree—for those on a low-calorie diet.

I hope you enjoy this trip as much as I did while putting together the itinerary. Now let's go! Free time awaits you.

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This article is for those who work in an office and want to know how to be less tired at work. In this article, I will share principles that help me feel less tired after a day of work.

Office work, in principle, is a rather tedious thing. Although this may sound strange to some. How can a person who sits in one place all day get tired? In fact, fatigue accumulates due to constant looking at the monitor, eye strain, monotony, abundance of incoming information, noise and stress. All these factors are components.

Fatigue after sedentary work is more like nervous fatigue than physical fatigue, in the original meaning of the word. Symptoms of fatigue are heaviness in the head, irritability, bad mood, etc. This is not like the (hopefully) pleasant tiredness everyone is familiar with after physical activity.

It is not possible to completely eliminate this fatigue. Working for many years, 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, plus commuting to the office, can tire even the strongest body. But this fatigue can be minimized. Next I will tell you how.

Principle 1 - Rest more - work less

If you have the opportunity to take a break from work, then use every such opportunity to regain strength and move your gaze from the monitor to something else. When I say “take a break,” I don’t mean quit work and start checking what you’ve been told or surfing the Internet. Step away from the monitor, walk down the street, breathe. Or just move away from the computer and try to relax, free your head from thoughts.

Working in front of a monitor tires you out, no matter what you're doing: reading work documents or studying a blog post. Let's take a break from this.

Go outside at least once every two hours for 5 to 10 minutes.

You can also use lunch time for walks. If you have an hour allotted for lunch? and you manage to finish your meal before this time expires, then do not rush to return to your workplace. Take a walk and stretch your body. You can hang on the horizontal bars. Exercise is great for relieving tension. It is only advisable to do this before lunch or a few hours after it.

Try to work less. Don't try to do as much work as possible in one day. If you have the opportunity to work less without sacrificing your salary, work less. This will save you some of your health and nerves. Work is not the most important thing in life.

Principle 2 - No multitasking!

I've noticed that if I don't try to multitask at work, I feel much less tired in the evening. But if I spend the whole day jumping from one task to another: answering emails and comments, then writing a couple of paragraphs of an article, then sending a Skype message to a friend, then by the end of such a day I usually feel quite tired.

The brain gets very tired from multitasking. In addition, if you try to deal with several tasks at once, the effectiveness of completing each of them will be less, the greater the number of these tasks. When I'm constantly distracted, I get much less done on each task than if I were doing them separately from each other.

Therefore, try not to be distracted by extraneous matters whenever possible. Turn off ICQ and Skype, deal with work tasks sequentially, there is no need to strive to satisfy requests from other employees as they arrive (unless, of course, they require urgent attention), finish your current affairs first.

And, of course, take rest breaks.

Principle 3 - Follow a Routine

A work routine will help you use your strengths effectively. Do the most difficult and time-consuming work in the morning, when you have the most energy. (I also wrote about this in the article) If you put off completing tasks until later and are lazy, then you may have to complete them at a time when there will be less strength and the work will be harder, and you will be tired.

If you need to do work by tomorrow, don't put it off until evening. In the evening you will want to relax a little. Therefore, do everything as early as possible. Don’t waste your morning on all sorts of nonsense, try to get everything done as quickly as possible, and only then, rest.

Principle 4 - Work remotely

Why not try asking your boss to transfer you to remote work? If your work activity does not require constant presence in the office, then transferring you to remote employment will only save your company money! There will be no need to pay for your workplace, rent extra office space, carry out cleaning and other maintenance, etc. Why not?

Remote work will allow you to save a lot of effort, time and money that you spend on travel. At home, you will be much less tired, even if you do the same amount of work as in the office! Why? Because at home you can always lie down, relax, pet the cat or take a refreshing shower. If you have completely finished work, say, at 16-00 and you have nothing to do for that day, then you do not need to pretend to be busy and wait until 18-00 to leave your workplace, as if you were working in an office.

In addition, a regular office is a public place. Employees scurrying back and forth, endless phone conversations of others, extraneous sounds - all this creates an unpleasant distracting background that affects you with fatigue. Add to this the road to work and the restrictive business style of clothing. The average office worker sits on pins and needles at work, spending days on end in a public place with a bunch of strangers, surrounded by constant bustle. It is very difficult to relax in such an environment!

Someone will answer me that they cannot work at home because of laziness and lack of discipline, while in the office there is a boss who is watching you and, if anything happens, will urge you on with an imaginary stick. There is nothing good about not being able to organize your work on your own, in the absence of bosses and colleagues. People drive themselves into office walls thanks to their lack of independence: “We need a leader, a guy with a stick! We cannot work on our own!” It's time to learn to be independent and organized. . Create a daily routine and follow it. Learn to work without a supervisor or driver.

Why not ask your boss about the possibility of remote work? Just ask, they won’t do anything to you for it!

Bosses know that most office workers are as undisciplined as children. They must always be encouraged, praised and scolded, monitored and kept under constant tension so that they do their job. For this, they are ready to pay the costs of your workplace and bear other costs. Prove to your boss that you are different and can work independently! Then you have a better chance of getting remote employment.

Did not work out? Well. This is not your last work. You can always find a place where you will be allowed to work remotely. Does your profession not allow it? Change it. Learn new skills that will enable you to telecommute. If you set such a goal for yourself, follow it, and not just complain about the circumstances, then you will definitely get what you want.

Imagine how good it will be when you don’t have to stand in traffic jams, travel on public transport, listen to colleagues’ conversations and sit in the office from bell to bell.

Principle 5 - Minimize stress at work

The less stress you get, the less tired you become - a proven fact. Stop participating in intrigues and gossiping behind your colleagues’ backs. Take a simpler approach to the work itself. Remember, at work you are just making money. You do your job and get paid for it. That's it, you don't owe anyone anything anymore.

Don’t worry about the fact that something isn’t working out for you, that your boss isn’t happy with you, that you’re letting someone down. The worst thing that can happen is that you will be fired, and if you are not on probation, then by law you will be required to pay compensation. Don’t think about anything else, put all personal relationships outside of work.

Management wants to keep employees on an emotional leash, so they try to instill in employees some kind of almost sacred attitude towards job functions and towards the company for which they work.

If you treat your job the way your boss wants you to treat it, it can cause you a lot of unnecessary worry and stress. You will think about work night and day, thinking only about making the company’s client happy, so that an error does not suddenly creep into your calculations, so that your boss does not scold you. This is all unnecessary. Treat work as a means of making money, and not as the meaning of life, a matter of your honor and your sacred duty.

This will help you experience less stress.

Principle 6 - Improve the quality of your holiday!

Many people forget that your level of fatigue is affected not only by what you do while working, but also by what you do outside of it. To be less tired at work, you must first of all rest better. Rest is perhaps one of the most important factors that determines your fatigue.

Spend time after work in a calm, homely environment. Read, lie in bed. Go for light walks, bike rides or jogs. This will help relieve fatigue and relax.

Avoid public places after work, after all, you've already spent the whole day in such a place! Take a break from people and noise. Take a break from information! All day long your brain was just processing data. Spare him this work, at least in the evening. No need to sit in front of the monitor and read the Internet all evening. This will only lead to more fatigue!

On weekends, try to devote at least one day to proper rest, and not to shopping or visiting relatives. If you have a dacha, great. Spend time in nature and in silence. Remember, noisy parties and large amounts of alcohol are not complete rest. Alcohol only drains you of the strength you need at work!

If you follow these tips, you will notice how much easier your work has become and how much better you feel at the end of the working day! Yesterday I spent the whole evening after work at home. Before going to bed, I lay in bed and listened to calm music, and now, on Friday, I feel full of energy, despite the fact that the end of the work week is approaching and there is less energy left...

The same cannot be said about other days this week. I was getting ready for my vacation and went shopping after work, buying camping gear. This exhausted me greatly, which had a very bad effect on my tone the next day. It was much more difficult to work and write articles and I was very tired.

Principle 6 - Don't stay late at work!

This, I think, is obvious, but still, this point will not be superfluous. Remember, you have the right to a 9-hour working day (including lunch) and nothing can force you to work overtime, even for free! Free overtime is exploitation of employees by management who capitalize on the human sense of responsibility (I wrote about this in the article). Working 8 hours every day, except weekends, is not enough, not to mention working beyond this time.

Therefore, spare your health and get up and leave at the end of the working day. It is your right. If you don’t have time to do something, although you worked properly, then this is the problem of the company that hired few employees and gave them too much work, not yours.

Principle 7 - Drink less tea and coffee

As paradoxical as it may sound, the caffeine contained in tea and coffee increases fatigue and drains your strength. I wrote about this in more detail in the article. The more you drink coffee, the more tired you become and the more your work efficiency decreases.

The absence or small amount of caffeine at work helps to distribute energy evenly throughout the working day. But if you consume a lot of caffeine in various drinks, then after a surge of vigor, a period of fatigue quite naturally sets in. The tone you get from a cup of coffee doesn't come out of nowhere.

If you can't do anything without a cup of coffee, then this indicates addiction. If you get rid of it, you will no longer need caffeine at all.

Principle 8 - Strengthen the body

The more physically fit you are, the more energy and strength you have and the less tired you are. Play sports, quit bad habits, eat healthy food, get enough sleep, meditate. All this will help you always be in good shape and experience less stress.

This is the last tip, but one of the most important! Please take the time to take care of yourself and your health!

Final words

As I said at the beginning of the article, office work is tiresome, no matter what you do. In my opinion, the time allocated for weekends and vacations is not able to satisfy a person’s need for proper rest. And given the lifestyle that many people lead: they smoke, drink, lead a sedentary lifestyle, stay late at work and do not rest properly even during vacation, we can say that many people do not know proper rest at all.

Either way, you will be tired.

Remember, office work in front of a monitor, next to strangers until retirement is not the only life alternative. You can organize your life so that you can relax more, do less monotonous, meaningless and unloved work, spend more time at home, with your loved ones and children, instead of seeing them only on weekends.

As I like to say, everything is in your hands.

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