A typical question we receive from clients who are interested in our personal productivity program for business owners and executives is the following: “So, how can I increase my productivity in the workplace?” This is a crucial question, especially if you are working long hours and you are often suffering from burnout. There are many ways to raise productivity in the workplace. In this post we will explore how you can increase productivity in the workplace by using positive psychology.

What is positive psychology?

According to Peterson, positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life most worth living. It is a strengths-oriented approach that focuses on building on the good and the positive instead of focusing on the weaknesses and what is not working. Positive psychology focuses on positive experiences such as joy and positive states such as gratitude. These positive experiences and positive states of mind can affect our productivity.

Personal productivity and the negative experience in the workplace

We often hear people complaining about the situation they experience at work. They complain about long-hour meetings that steal their time, about organizational inefficiencies that affect their productivity, about colleagues that don’t stick to deadlines and cause delays. Focusing on the negative aspects of the workplace will create a negative mindset and will affect your productivity. How can you give your best self if you are having thoughts such as “why should I try harder if no one recognizes my effort?” or “why should I give my best self if the deliverable which depends also on others won’t be improved?” Thoughts like this demotivate you and affect, often in a subconscious way, your productivity.

Personal productivity and the positive experience in the workplace

You might be thinking at this point that a workplace where everything is positive is unrealistic. It is utopian. Even though this is true, it is also true that the way we think and feel about things, influence the reality we experience. So, imagine that you were able to reverse the negative thoughts you are having about your workplace, your boss, and your colleagues into positive thoughts. It is a matter of seeing the glass half full, instead of seeing it half empty. It is about having thoughts that motivate you, instead of demotivating you. Remember, for example, how excited you felt when you started working in this workplace or on this project. What were your hopes and expectations? Reflect on the positive experiences and the successes you had so far. Remember the support you received from your colleagues and your manager.

Conclusion

Productivity is crucial for our sense of self-worth and our work-life balance. Positive psychology teaches us many lessons about how positive experiences and positive states of mind can increase our productivity in the workplace. In this short article we discussed about replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts. So, what will be the first negative thought that you are going to replace with a positive one?