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This productivity hack is super simple and costs you nothing

16 Nov 2018

Want to get more done and be more focused when you’re at work? You don’t need to download an app or pick up an expensive gadget. This productivity hack is incredibly straightforward.

Productivity is the white whale of the working world. If you constantly feel like you’re on the backfoot and losing the race against an unforgiving clock, you’re certainly not alone.

So how do you become more productive? It’s a topic that we’ve considered extensively in the Siliconrepublic.com Careers section. We’ve detailed daily rituals that can increase your productivity and the productivity mistakes you could be making in the morning. We’ve identified the person in your office that could be dragging everyone down. We’ve discussed the long shadow that procrastination can cast and ways you can stay focused even when it’s a struggle. And now, we have a new productivity hack that is so easy you’ll probably hate it slightly.

Step one, get up from your desk. You may as well stretch your legs while you’re at it – as we’ve mentioned before, sitting is the new smoking. Step two, make your way over to your nearest water cooler or sink. Step three, get a glass of water. Step four, drink the water. You’re done. Wait, what?

Well, you’re not done. Drinking water is a rolling requirement for your entire existence. But, yes, drinking water is the productivity hack that you are more than likely overlooking completely.

‘Stay hydrated’, that old chestnut, is advice so evidently correct that it tends to go ignored. Yet dehydration has such deleterious effects on the body. You, very literally, need it to live, but did you know that even mild dehydration can impair your cognitive function?

A 2015 study from Loughborough University found that even being slightly dehydrated impaired driving ability, akin to drink-driving. What’s more, it’s possible you won’t even notice being mildly dehydrated. By the time thirst is palpable, you’re probably already quite dehydrated. Your brain, very simply, needs water, and probably needs more than you realise and more than you’re actually drinking.

If you want to try and get into the habit of drinking more water, Pounds to Pocket has created this infographic explaining the symptoms that you may need to up your water intake and the various ways you can train (or trick!) yourself to be healthier. You can make it part of your morning routine to drink a glass of water. You can set an hourly notification to get up and get a drink. Better yet, buy a reusable water bottle and take regular swigs while you’re at your desk.

For more tips on drinking more water and unlocking the productivity boost you can get from being properly hydrated, check out the full infographic below.

drink water productivity hack infographic

Infographic: Pounds to Pocket

Eva Short
By Eva Short

Eva Short was a journalist at Silicon Republic, specialising in the areas of tech, data privacy, business, cybersecurity, AI, automation and future of work, among others.

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