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The way you structure your workday may be more important to your productivity than the number of hours you work. Studies have measured how much time people spend on various tasks and compared this to their productivity levels. Results showed that the length of the workday didn’t matter as much as how people structured their day. People who consistently focused, then took short breaks, were more productive than those who worked longer hours. Take charge of your workday with the following tips. You may find your productivity soaring.

1-Break your day into hours. We are much more productive if we break down a long and complicated task into smaller parts. In a similar way, it is more effective to accomplish your daily “to-do’s” by working in hour-long segments. You’ll focus on what you want to accomplish in that hour instead of being distracted by a long list that looks impossible to finish by the end of the day.

2-Pay attention during your hour. Breaking your day into hour-long stretches works so well because you are using intense focus for a relatively short period of time, followed by a break. But you have to pay attention during the hour. If you get distracted by checking email or scanning Facebook, you’re not using this peak productive time effectively.

3-Take a break. Our brain typically works in waves of high energy (usually about an hour) followed by low energy (about 15 minutes). This natural up and down gives us the ability to concentrate and focus on a task before getting tired and distracted. So after you work for about an hour, take a break. A real break. Get up from your desk and away from your computer, your phone and your to-do list. Walk around, talk with a co-worker, or read non-work-related material to recharge. Going through email or returning phone calls doesn’t count as a real break.

4-Stick to the schedule. You may be tempted to keep working after your hour is up, but don’t. Waiting until you feel tired enough to take a break is counter-productive. You’ll reap more benefits if you use peak energy to focus for an hour, then take a mini-break to rest. It does no good to keep going when you’re tired and easily distracted. Working more hours isn’t as effective as working better hours.

Give these tips a try by focusing on your work then taking a short break. Experiment with it for a day, then a week, or more. We’re betting that structuring your day this way will increase the quality and quantity of your results.

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