7 Tips to Boost Productivity When You're Tired at Work

When you’re too tired to work it’s often best to close the laptop, put the phone down, and call it a day. But that’s not always practical. Sometimes the work needs to get done – and it needs to get done now.

If you want to stay on track to meet your deadlines and professional goals, read on for seven effective ways to power through fatigue and increase productivity.

1. Disable Digital Distractions to Increase Productivity

If you can’t stay focused at work, you can’t really expect to get anything done. But our ability to concentrate is greatly affected by the constant flow of digital distractions competing for attention – email, text messages, social media, news media, streaming services, the impulse to search on every whim. Add exhaustion to the mix and staying on task becomes an even greater challenge.

To better focus when you're tired, unplug to combat digital distractions. Whether this means totally disabling your wireless connection or using productivity tools like Apple’s Focus feature or Microsoft Windows’ Focus Assist, cutting out distractions reduces the amount of stimuli our brain has to process at any given time. This helps us redirect our full attention to the most important task at hand, reducing cognitive fatigue and increasing productivity.

Whether you actually feel tired or not, you need to take breaks if you want to stay productive.

2. Establish an Environment Conducive to Deep Work

It you want to be productive when tired, you’ll want to create an environment that’s conducive to intense focus. Disabling digital distractions is a great first step, but when your work space is cluttered the visual chaos can reduce your ability to focus and induce stress. Keeping a well-organized workspace can minimize these disturbances, but be careful not to let cleaning become a way to procrastinate. Give yourself 10-15 minutes to clean up as much as possible, and then get to work. If you work from home and house chores keep pulling you away, consider setting up shop at the library, in a local coffee shop, or a co-working space.

Wherever you’re working, you might also want to manage noise. Ear plugs can be great if you prefer silence, while noise-canceling headphones can help you drown out noise – or silence – with music that motivates you and gets you into the work groove. Listening to white noise can also be an effective way to ignore distractions and get into the zone.

3. Boost Productivity with a Short Nap

Whether you actually feel tired or not, you need to take breaks if you want to stay productive. But when every minute counts, it’s psychologically hard to justify stepping away for rest despite the hard science: Brief naps have been consistently shown to enhance alertness, concentration, attention, and performance.

To avoid sleep inertia – the groggy feeling that sometimes occurs immediately after waking up – aim to nap for less than 20-30 minutes. For me, 12 minutes seems to be the sweet spot. Set an alarm and lay down in silence. I like to lounge on the floor or the couch, where I’m less likely to be lulled into deep sleep. Resist the desire to hit snooze after the alarm goes off. Use your willpower to get up and take a few deep breaths. You should soon feel refreshed and ready to work.

4. Fuel Up Right

Food plays a key role in providing the energy and nutrients we need to perform at our best – especially when you’re feeling tired at work. It’s tempting to reach for quick snacks like cookies and chips for a quick burst of energy. But these simple carbs soon leave you feeling sluggish. Instead, opt for complex carbs and brain-boosting fats.

Complex carbs, such as unprocessed or minimally processed fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains, are high in fiber and digest slower, providing you with sustained energy. These types of carbs can also help regulate blood sugar, preventing energy crashes. Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, sardines, walnuts, and flax seeds, have been linked to improved memory, learning, cognitive well-being, and blood flow to the brain.

Hydration is also key, as even mild dehydration is linked to poor performance, short-term memory problems, moodiness, and anxiety. You may reach for sugary or caffeinated drinks when tired at work but water usually is the best choice, especially if it’s late in the day. If you need some flavor, herbal teas like peppermint can invigorate you without the side effects of sugar or caffeine.

5. Wake Up With a Walk or Some Light Exercises

When you’re tired but want to stay productive, exercise might sound like the worst idea. But even a 15-minute walk can give you a much-needed energy boost. Aim to get outside and take a quick stroll without distractions. This means no phone calls, no podcasts, no texting, no email. Walk away and let your mind reset. You’ll likely come back feeling refreshed and better able to solve problems or make decisions.

If a walk is out of the question, try to at least take a moment to get up and get the blood flowing. Whether this means pumping out some pushups, busting out a few jump squats, engaging in a few light stretches, or letting loose with some dance moves, any kind of movement will help improve circulation and stimulate your nervous system – fighting mental fatigue while supporting alertness, mental clarity, and a higher energy level.

6. Maximize Productivity with the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule, or the Pareto Principle, says that 80% of outputs come from 20% of the inputs. You can apply the concept to almost anything, but it’s particularly useful when you’re tired at work and need to prioritize tasks to get the most out whatever mental energy you have left.

For example, say there are five things on your to-do list:

• Email a potential client to schedule a call.
• Review and approve final edits to the company’s new website design.
• Submit tax documents to accountant by end of day.
• Prepare market research survey questions to better understand consumer preferences.
• Spend 30 minutes brainstorming new marketing ideas for the next quarter.

When you’re exhausted, it’s difficult to choose which of those tasks to tackle first. Or maybe the easier stuff, like emailing that potential client, feels like the most efficient use of your fading energy. But if you want to prioritize like a pro and maximize productivity even when you’re exhausted, the 80/20 rule can help you focus on the task with the most significant impact.

In this example, getting those tax documents over to your accountant is probably the best option. Why? It’s the only task with a hard deadline, and there can be financial consequences if taxes aren’t completed on time. Other tasks, like following up with the prospect and reviewing the new website design, can wait for tomorrow. Meanwhile, you can ask your marketing manager to kick off the marketing brainstorm session and start preparing a research survey.

7. Leverage the Power of Productivity Apps

If you’re already tired and need to get some work done fast, this might not be the best time to learn a new app. But if you have the time – or want to prepare for the future – there are plenty of apps that can help you improve your productivity:

• Time management apps, like Todoist and TickTick, prioritize and organize tasks so you get them done on time. Other time management apps, like BeFocused, leverage the Pomodoro technique – a time management method that breaks work into 25-minute intervals separated by short breaks.
• Time tracking apps, like Toggl and RescueTime, make it easy to see how much time you spend on different tasks. This can help you identify where you could boost efficiency.
• Focus apps, like Forest and Flora, also leverage the Pomodoro technique. Unlike BeFocused, these apps discourage you from using your phone for customizable intervals, helping to crush distractions.
• Wellness apps, like Insight Timer and Medito, offer guided meditations and breathing exercises that can refresh your energy and boost mental clarity.

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re fighting off fatigue during a long day at the office or while working from home with the kids around, it can be tough to get the job done when you’re tired. The good news is that there are ways to boost your energy and remain productive. Next time you’re trying to boost productivity when exhausted, consider creating an environment conducive to focus, disabling digital distractions, and leveraging the 80/20 rule to prioritize effectively. If sleepiness starts to take hold, a brief nap, a walk, or some light exercise can go a long way toward increasing your concentration and alertness. And be sure to fuel up right: If you’re hungry, complex carbs and good fats can sustain your energy and support your brain, whereas sugary, simple carbs can contribute to a crash after an initial jolt.

A version of this article was originally published on May 21, 2013.

Photo: Getty Images