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3 Ways to Stay Productive on a Friday at Work

We've all been at this stage, whether in school or at our job. It's Friday afternoon, you've had a good lunch, and now you're just counting down the minutes until you're free and the weekend begins. Maybe you had some energy at work in the morning, but now it's gone.

Still, it's not impossible to stay productive, even on a Friday afternoon. There will still be assignments to complete and customers to serve. All it takes is the right attitude and a little forethought, as these 3 tips will show.

1. Work on interesting tasks later in the day. Your energy level after lunch might be low because of the meal you just had, but it's also dependent on your interest in what you're doing. Avoid putting boring or uninteresting assignments for the end of the day. Get them out of the way in the morning and save the more enjoyable work for the afternoon. If you don't have anything that interesting left for the day, then perhaps there's a coworker who could use your help. It'll feel good to give someone assistance and leave you both feeling better as you head into the weekend.

2. Prepare your assignments for Monday. It's tempting to get to Friday, do just a little work, and decide to leave everything else for Monday. Not only is this making Friday afternoons harder to bear, but it won't make coming into work on Monday any easier. To lift your spirits for both those days, you should take a little time to get yourself organized for the week ahead. That way, you'll be less stressed out over the work you have to get done because all the preliminaries are in place.

3. Take a quick nap or a workout. The post-lunch work period doesn't have to be a constant fight for energy and focus. Try giving yourself a little boost by taking a 10 to 15-minute nap. You just need enough sleep to wipe away your inertia and put you back in control. You can also try a few repetitive exercises at your desk, like stretches, or going outside for a short walk or jog. Not only can they help you stay energized for the rest of the day, but they'll stave off repetitive stress injuries and going outside for a walk can boost your creativity as well.

With enough energy keeping up going on Friday afternoon, you'll be able to carry that same drive into the weekend and all the fun things you'd rather be doing.

And if you find you're still dreading going back to work on Monday morning, don't worry. Just consult our article on "4 Ways to Feel Better About Mondays."

Image by slworking2 on Flickr