Any business knows that productivity is key to growth, let alone staying afloat. Whether you are talking about a production line, a traveling salesperson, and yes even your office space; productivity is going to be the main driving factor which will allow your business to not only stay in business, but also experience growth year over year, month over month.

Here we are going to describe 23 ways to improve office productivity which will in turn allow you to realize higher profits, more output, and less money being wasted to lost productivity.

First on the list? Improving office productivity through computer applications:

Science proves that taking more breaks allows us to be more productive.

How does that work if we technically will have less “work time” by taking all these breaks?

It gives us time to collect our thoughts, time to let our mind roam, and even some time to talk and bounce ideas off of others.

So, instead of making employees hate working because you limit them to one break a day; let them take a short one every hour or two and watch the ideas and productivity outputs increase!

Not only should you be organizing your desk, but also the entire office.

A cleared out area allows for a clear mind to work at much higher levels of clarity. Whether you have a cubical office design or a more open concept; requiring all areas of the office to be clear on either a weekly or daily basis should be a must.

Sure, not everyone likes to clear. But, if you give employees 10-15 minutes to clean their area at the end of every day I’m sure most people will be happy to do so (especially if you explain it is part of your initiative to improve productivity in the office)!

Some people have a habit of checking their email every 10 minutes while they are waiting for someone important to get back to them.

In reality, the likelihood of them replying back right away even if you get back to them quick is slim. On top of that, it seems down right desperate.

By implementing 2-3 time periods (again, depending on the department) that people should check their email; you will end the constant refreshing of email pages by a lot of your work force. This allows people to get back to work and pay much more attention to their work at hand.

There can be multiple things wrong with your lighting system that might be throwing off people in the office.

First of all, if you have fluorescent lights then you might just have a few (or a lot) of lights in your office that flicker or even worse, buzz. This can cause eye stress, annoyance, and a general distraction.

On top of that, you may have either an under-lit or over-lit office. Both are bad, and it’s up to you to find the optimal light output for your office. This can be done by surveying employees on your lighting system and going from there.

Lastly, low quality light can be an issue. An easy way to not only improve the quality of light but also get rid of flickering and buzzing light issues is by upgrading your reduce your energy usage by up to 30% or so. Sounds like a win-win situation here!

Not only will they help with productivity, but they will also clean the air of toxins which will keep the air fresh and not-so-stuffy.

Stop making it so difficult to get around. Make it easy to get to the bathroom, to the trash, or even to an outlet.

Time is money, and if people are having to spend time just to get to the most basic things you aren’t setting up your office for success (literally).

Using office design to increase productivity can be difficult, sure. But it doesn’t have to be all that complex. You could even get some people together to brainstorm what could be done to best optimize the space you have to best serve efficiency in the office. So while there will never be the “best office design for productivity” hack or tip (due to all offices being different), you can always use some general guidelines and common sense to help you out.

Wherever the noise may be coming from, while it may not effect everyone it may be effecting some people.

Now, this can be an easy fix if the noise is coming from within the office. To solve this issue, all you need to do is address the area of concern and fix it. But, what if the noise is coming externally on a frequent basis?

Well, you can do either of two things. Firstly, you can try to address or confront the external noise producer and see if there is anyway for it to stop at least during your time of work. If that doesn’t work, then you might need to install sound proofing technology into your walls. This can get pricey sure, but you’ve got to weight the benefits of having less noise in the office versus the cost it is going to be to make the upgrade.

Although you might think that you won’t be able to get everything in if you shorten meetings, you would be mistaken!

In fact, having shorter meetings make them much more focused and thus; more productive. Even if you have two meetings over one a week because they are shorter, it is much better to have two 10 minute meetings over one 30 minute one that lacks purpose.

On top of that, do you really need to have a meeting? Or, are you just holding meetings to “have a meeting?” If it is the latter, try scheduling meetings only when they are needed, rather just out of habit.

Looking for ways to motivate the office into getting stuff done? 43Folders.com and it’s a simple concept: work for ten minutes, break for 2, then repeat this 5 times (or an hour).

You might say, “are you mad?! No way I’ll let my employees take a break every 10 minutes.” But here it out…

Maybe you shouldn’t implement this tactic specifically, but make a variation that works for your needs but still allows for productivity to be most optimal. And yes, there will be times when extreme concentration is required for more than 10-20 minutes, and obviously this doesn’t have to be a “set in stone” type deal. Instead, make it a generally accepted practice to partake in such method of break and work balancing.

(We already talked about more breaks in #3, but we thought this hack was worthy of its own).

Have you ever listed a job listing opportunity with one of the qualifications as “multitasking?” If so, you’ve got it all wrong. In fact, you should be listing a qualifications as “the ability to be laser focused on one thing at a time.”

Multitasking Parkinson’s law” in short says that we will fill whatever time is allotted to complete a given task.

Why do you think people with a 3 month deadline to get a presentation done still find themselves struggling to get it ready to go last minute? Because they will fill the entire time they are given to finish it. This goes with any task, and if you shorten the time allotted to finish tasks you will see more getting done because people will work to fill the allotted time given.

This of course can be used too far and not given enough time to get things done with all the proper due diligence required. Finding a good balance of long enough but not TOO long will be difficult, but start looking into deadlines and what exactly defines how far out they get set and start thinking about setting shorter (yet still doable) deadlines.

Studies show that standing will not only improve health, but it will also improve productivity. Focus goes up and thus more work can get done.

call center workers showed that pollution in the office reduced productivity levels. As you can imagine, pollution is a major issue in a lot of places, especially in bigger cities.

It is better to be prepared for a power outage than to have to scramble when one actually happens. Having a drawer, a small space in a cupboard or even a rubber tote filled with the supplies you will need when the power goes out is a good idea. Your Beverly Hills electrician suggests you keep at least one flashlight and some backup batteries, a battery-powered radio, matches and some emergency candles along with sturdy candleholders in your kit. These are just a few things you will need to get you through an outage. You can call The Electric Connection to learn about some other things you may want to keep in your kit.

Once the power goes out, you will want to grab your kit, especially if darkness is falling or it is already dark. If it is daylight, you can take care of these things without needing any light. As soon as the power goes out, you want to go about protecting your sensitive electric equipment. Smart TVs, computers, laptops and so on are very sensitive to electric surges. They need to be unplugged from the wall until after the power comes on and seems to be staying on. Don’t rush right over and start plugging stuff in the second you see the lights come on. It is not uncommon to have the power hiccup a few times before there is a steady stream.

You will also want to turn off any appliances and lights that may have been at the time of the outage. This will help cut down on a surge coming into your home and potentially causing serious damage. If this does happen, you will need to call your electrician. Beverly Hills residents can call The Electric Connection if there have been any side effects from a power outage.

How old is your home or business building? 20 years? 30 years? 40 years or more? When was the last time you had your wiring inspected? If your building is older than 25 years, you could be at risk for an electrical fire. Electrical fires are frequently caused by old components wearing out and failing, but these things can be hard to detect since so much of it is hidden from sight behind your drywall. So how do you know if you are at risk? Here are a few factors that frequently cause fires in older buildings.

From the 1880s until the mid-1930s, knob-and-tube wiring was the standard in running electricity lines through homes and businesses. Today, these systems are not permitted under business code except in extremely rare circumstances. If your home or business has this old system of wiring in it, odds are you should consult an electrician about replacing it with a modern system as soon as possible. Rodents have a thing for chewing on these exposed wires, making them tremendous fire hazards.

Modern appliances and equipment sometimes require a much higher amperage draw to function than old wires are rated to carry. When you overload a wire with too much amperage, it can get extremely hot, which can start fires inside your walls. If your electrical system is old, consider having it inspected by a professional who can tell you whether or not you should upgrade to wire rated for a higher amperage.

Part of being a home or property owner is improving your property. Those who have a knack for handiwork (or at least think they do) may have tried to modify their wiring in the past. This means there could be shoddy connections, loose live wires, and other serious fire hazards hidden behind your walls. Be extremely careful when cutting into drywall in an older home.

Over time, insulation on wires can age, become brittle, and crack. In other cases, the wires may have been chewed by rodents or screwed or nailed into by accident. This can leave the core of your wire exposed, which leaves it prone to sparking and potential fires.

The wires aren’t the only part of your home that’s at risk for starting a fire; old breakers can malfunction and overload if they are not maintained or upgraded every few decades. Have your old circuit breaker inspected by a professional who can test to make sure everything is still functioning properly, as well as replace any breakers that may not be working correctly.

Today’s electrical code is far more advanced and rigorous than it was in decades’ past. With new technology has come new safety standards. However, older buildings were not required to adhere to these new standards, and many of them have not been properly retrofitted with the latest in electrical tech. Odds are, if you have an older building, your electrical system would not pass inspection today. Let a professional take a look and work with you to eliminate the fire hazards and protect your property from a devastating fire.