Whistling At Work Makes You More Efficient

Whistling while you work could help you do your job better, suggests a new study.

According to a leading psychologist, whistling or singing helps distract the mind from trying too hard and prevents mental overload.

The suggestion is based on a study into the phenomenon of 'choking' - the moment when a footballer misses a critical penalty or a top student flunks a vital exam.

Dr Sian Beilock of the University of Chicago argues far from being down to ''just nerves'', choking occurs when the brain finds itself with too many pieces of information to process, resulting in ''paralysis by analysis''.

The same holds true when presenting a vital sales pitch, making an important putt or doing an audition.

"Choking is sub-optimal performance, not just poor performance," the Daily Mail quoted Beilock, who used brain scans to study what is going on the mind during high pressure situations in the lab, as saying.

"It's a performance that is inferior to what you can do and have done in the past and occurs when you feel pressure to get everything right."

Some of the most memorable moments of choking occur in sports when the whole world is watching, she said.

Even singing helps stop parts of the brain that might interfere with performance from taking over, she said.

She has dubbed the phenomenon paralysis by analysis - when people try to control every aspect of what they are doing in a bid to ensure success.

The researchers found that the brain can also sabotage performance because too much pressure is put on ''working memory'' - part of the prefrontal cortex, which focuses explicitly on the task in hand.

Although the most talented people usually have the most working memory, anxieties and worries overload it, meaning the brain is no longer able to perform.

The research features in a new book Choke: What Secrets of the Brain Reveal About Getting it Right When You Have To.

How to Be Productive at Work

Getting started: Start with understanding and doing your assigned task. Remember, taking the first step is always difficult, but if you do not take that one step you can never achieve your goals. Don't get worried with the task assigned, if it is new to you. Ask required questions to better understand assigned task. Once you get started, everything will come in easy.
Stay Healthy: Bad health can also be a possible reason for being unproductive. Before you go to work; take your breakfast, rest well and research about your duties.
Make an appointment with yourself: Give yourself at least 30 minutes during the day. This will enable you to concentrate and focus your attention on the matters at hand. Give yourself time to think and concentrate as you tackle your job and projects. These uninterrupted 30 minutes will give fruitful results in the long run.
Utilize your prime time: We all have a specific time of the day when we have lots of vigor and zest and a greater ability to think and concentrate. Work out when you have your high energy levels and tackle your most important work at that time. Try to arrange meetings, appointments and other activities at another time of the day.
Avoid unplanned meetings: Spontaneous meetings are real interrupters as well as huge time-wasters and productivity destroyers. They break your concentration, disturb your thought process while undermine your momentum. The next time someone comes into your office or sits by your desk and start making he/she comfortable, say that you are in the middle of an important project. Then ask if you could get together at a mutually convenient time later in the day or week. This is called a polite excuse.
Schedule your meetings with staff and colleagues: In most offices, time is wasted when people get up from their desks to ask their colleagues a question. Fix a specific time to meet colleagues for queries. Best is the time slot which does not fall in the peak hours of work.
Take breaks: It is a fact that taking breaks periodically during the day relax your body and nerves and refreshes you for the tasks ahead. Ensure that you take small breaks all day. It could be a walk to the water cooler from your office/room or a visit to the photocopy machine/fax/printer.
Planning required: Establish a routine of listing your daily and weekly tasks. This will allow you to have your most productive week all the time. Start your day an extra 15 minutes early to do this planning every day. Write down the top 3 important things you must do that day. Plan your upcoming week on Sunday evening.
Drop unimportant tasks: Delete the non-essential items from your to-do list. The best way to do this is to prioritize and complete your most important things first.
Enjoy your time at work: Being productive and competitive in official business doesn't mean that you have to be serious all the time. Smiling doesn't mean you're not working hard. Be enthusiastic as well as competitive. Stay positive, that way you can face and win challenges better.
Be a Team Player: Don't be afraid to collaborate with others. Don't wait for your boss to tell you what to do
Learn from criticism: Be a sport and never immediately reject critiques from others, even if you do not like or respect them. Sometimes people you do not like may be giving you more honest feedback than you can get from others.
Acclimatize: Adapting is in the nature of living beings. Those who do not adapt, become extinct.
Upgrade your learning: Always be on the lookout for opportunities to learn and improve your skills. Look for good seminars and training.