Hey Millennials, Quit Wasting Time

Katie Williamson May 5, 2016

Time is a precious commodity in our 21st-century lives. But, social media and streaming tv aren’t the only things that steal our time. Here are some ways to be more productive and stop wasting time, provided by older generations of workers.

Ask for help

It’s hard to balance confidence and humility in the workplace. Having a stubborn attitude when it comes to asking for help doesn’t demonstrate confidence, but can demonstrate arrogance or even ignorance. Everyone needs to be taught sometimes so instead of wasting time trying to figure it out on your own, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your boss or coworker will admire your humility. This openness also creates a dialogue and builds trust in your relationship.

Focus on the positive

One of the biggest wastes of time can be focusing on our mistakes, others’ mistakes, or things we wish we could change. In my own experience, I’ve found dwelling on my mistakes actually causes me to make more errors. I get caught in my own head instead of remembering to double-check my work or again, ask others for help. When we fixate on the things we cannot change, it causes our creativity and innovation to stall, instead of moving forward.

How should we handle mistakes? A good friend of mine told me I need to allow myself to feel it. Once we feel the weight of it, we can forgive ourselves and move on. Be transparent and apologetic with others who may have been affected, learn from the mistake, and next time think hard before repeating the same error.

Choose happiness

It’s easy to spend time being unhappy in our jobs, relationships, or in other aspects of our life. I’m still a young professional, but I realized early-on my first choice for a career was not what truly made me happy. We spend a LOT of time at our nine-to-fives, so it’s important to leave each day feeling fulfilled. After some intense soul-searching, I decided to switch careers and have never looked back. Once I started doing work I enjoyed, I found other areas of my life felt more complete as well. Don’t waste time in a place that doesn’t provide value in your life.

This advice doesn’t just apply to our careers, but also in relationships or even the places we live. If the relationship isn’t healthy for you or the other person, get out of it. If you don’t love where you live, move. Frank Warren, the creator of the PostSecret movement, says “Be wise enough not to be reckless, but brave enough to take great risks.” Don’t make a rash decision because you’re fed up, but make sure you aren’t getting to a place where your unhappiness consumes you.

Don’t let your job define you

Lastly, it’s important to remember there is more to life than your work. Don’t let your whole life go by and regret not doing more because you spent all your waking hours at work, on your way to work, thinking about work, hanging out with coworkers… you get the point. It’s a big world out there and life is too short not to experience it. Plus, new experiences can make us more innovative in our workplaces. Win-win.

What’s some advice you would’ve given your younger self?

The Sweet Sound of Productivity

Katie Williamson May 2, 2016

Music & Productivity are a match made in heaven. One of the best things about PerkSpot is that we have music bouncing off the walls all day long.

However, we know that all music is not created equally. There are the rock jams that get us pumped up, the pop songs that the whole team can sing along, and the mellow acoustics that relax us at the end of the day. Here are a few tips for curating the perfect sounds for your day.

When X + Y = Zzzzzz

Crunching numbers is a part of almost every person’s job description at some point. To keep yourself awake, the best tunes for your intimate time with Excel are pop songs. So whether you’re into old-school Abba or have Bieber fever, pump up the pop jams to get your fingers and your mind flowing.

When you spill your coffee, forget your notebook, and get stuck in traffic…

Mornings can sometimes be the enemy. A personal favorite and a sure-fire bad-mood buster is Reggae. Nothing will help you forget the stresses of the day like being transported to a tropical island.

When Photoshop is your friend…

For the creative minds, we’ve got just the trick. Ambient or electronic music is what the doctor ordered to make you your best creative self.

When you’re tired of hearing the same playlist…

Generally speaking, a good rule-of-thumb is to choose songs with minimal lyrics. Here at PerkSpot, we’ll play jazz, blues, or even music in a different language because the lyrics tend to be less-distracting than your typical mainstream artists.

Music isn’t the only perk that helps improve productivity. Help your employees be more productive with exclusive discounts through PerkSpot!

The One Perk

Katie Williamson April 27, 2016

It’s no secret the 21st-century work environment looks a little different. From beer on tap and unlimited snacks to nap pods and open time-off policies, companies are striving to capture the attention of millennials with their extensive list of perks.

But, you don’t have to be a hip start-up or a trendy tech company to give employees what they want. There’s one highly underrated, but seriously important perk.

Every Employee Wants to be Appreciated

Each of us is born with different talents and skills. In fact, chances are you’re in your position because someone recognized your talent in one specific area and pushed you to pursue it. A quick “job well done” can go a long way in shaping our futures, especially when it comes to our careers.

Business Insider reports the average person spends over 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime. It’s no wonder we crave appreciation for the work we dedicate our lives to completing. No one wants to go through life wondering if they made a difference.

Treat employees like they make a difference and they will.

Jim Goodnight, CEO, SAS

Appreciating Employees means knowing their names.

One of the most obvious ways you can appreciate employees is learning their name. For those of us in a small office like PerkSpot, this isn’t a huge challenge. However, for larger companies, it’s even more important to take time to call employees by name. A simple “How’s your day going, Karla?” or “Nice work on the stats, Miles!” goes a long way. By giving positive, personal feedback the employee feels heard and believes their work is important to the success of the company.

Appreciating Employees means giving feedback.

One of the great things about appreciation is that it also provides an opportunity to correct as well. When you consistently and genuinely give praises, employees receive negative comments with more understanding. A well-balanced employee experience includes both corrections and commendations.

Appreciating Employees means significant ROI.

Employee recognition is free, making it the cheapest perk you can offer your employees. Plus, it’s also one of the most effective for productivity, employee happiness, and overall results. Undoubtedly, employee recognition is key to keeping employees engaged. We love Forbes’s definition of employee engagement: “Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.” The emotional commitment an employee feels comes from recognizing their accomplishments and attributing company success to their achievements. Increasing employee engagement through recognition can drive results as employees see the pay-off for their hard work.

Show your employees you appreciate them by providing exclusive discounts and recognition through PerkSpot!

Make Every Day Earth Day

Katie Williamson April 22, 2016

April 22 is Earth Day, but here at PerkSpot, we believe every day we have the opportunity to make choices that impact the environment in a positive way.

Here are a few ways to make every day Earth Day:

1. Plant a tree!

Some things never go out of style. One of those things is the age-old tradition of planting a tree on Earth Day. It’s a small effort that goes a long way.

2. Ease up on the printing.

One of the great things about technology is that is lessens our dependence on paper. Use an app for your daily to-dos, keep your files organized in desktop folders instead of printing documents, create a powerpoint instead of providing handouts, or if you absolutely have to print… use both sides and make the font smaller while still being legible.

3. Use sustainable materials.

Make a new goal of purchasing recycled, refurbished or used products whenever available. Speak with your suppliers and see where you can decrease your carbon footprint.

4. Explore commuter benefits and other alternatives.

One of our Perks here at PerkSpot are commuter benefits. Because we can purchase our passes at a pre-tax amount, employees here are encouraged to take public transit to work. With so many ride-sharing options and alternatives to driving out there, it’s easy to provide employees with effective and personal ways they can be involved in the company’s environmental efforts.

5. Power off.

Many of us forget to unplug but by leaving our chargers and laptops plugged in, we’re actually wasting energy. Make sure you unplug anything that doesn’t need to be plugged in over the weekend or in the evening. Turn off the lights when you leave. You know, all those things our moms and dads told us to do when we were kids.

How are you making a difference this Earth Day? Leave us a note in the comments!

Workplace Peer Pressure: Engaging Employees

Katie Williamson April 8, 2016

In his book, “Building a Magnetic Culture”, Kevin Sheridan, Chief Engagement Officer at Human Capital Management, discusses the different levels of engagement we find in the workplace and their effect on each other. Peer pressure is alive and well in our 21st century offices. Which means the engagement levels our employees experience can spread like a virus.

We’ll dive into the ways we can spread positive engagement.
First let’s discuss, as Sheridan details, the different types of employees we encounter:

Employee Types

Actively Disengaged Employees

are the “Negative Nancy”s of the workplace. They can be found constantly complaining, focusing on problems and openly expressing their discontent and negative outlook on their position.

Ambivalent Employees

are arguably the most dangerous type of employee because they’re often the hardest to spot. They are fulfilling their basic job responsibilities, but not much more. In fact, they rarely offer to lead projects or volunteer for extra opportunities. These nine-to-fivers just want their paycheck, with bags packed and feet out the door by five o’clock sharp.

Actively Engaged Employees

are the ideal type of employee. As engaged employees, they consistently go above and beyond their job description. They promote the mission and vision of the company’s brand, contribute new ideas, and are optimistic about their future in the company.

Making a Change

Because the majority of employees fall within the Ambivalent category, it’s crucial that they move towards becoming Actively Engaged versus Actively Disengaged.

In a previous article we discussed the importance of workplace friendships on both personal health and organizational success. This is evidence that peer pressure can be essential in driving the increase of employee engagement. One tactic managers can implement is putting these Ambivalent Employees in close proximity to Actively Engaged Employees through group projects and assignments. Because these Engaged employees thrive in environments where they can step up to the plate and lead others, it’s a great way not only to involve the Ambivalent, but also encourage and affirm those employees who are already engaging in positive ways.

Most of the time, however, we don’t associate peer pressure as being a positive force. Just like a high school bully, Actively Disengaged Employees can negatively affect every person in their surroundings. Their negativity can be a virus to the workplace. It’s important not to shy away from addressing this negativity as quickly as possible to not infect others. Because these employees are primarily motivated by their paycheck, it is not likely they will leave on their own initiative. For that reason, it’s crucial that managers speak with any actively disengaged employees.

Address the Whys

When speaking with these employees, it’s also important to assess why they may be feeling apathetic in their work. Many times there could be an opportunity for a constructive conversation. In fact, this conversation could even transform them into some of the mostly highly engaged employees in the organization. However, it is likely that the position or the company may not be a great fit for this particular person and, in that case, discuss transitioning them out of the company.

Taking a page out of Sheridan’s book, “Creating a workplace environment where Engagement thrives and Disengagement dies should always be a management priority.”

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Crush the Afternoon Slump by Daydreaming, Reading a Novel

Courtney Shipshock November 11, 2015

Your high-energy, high-output morning feels like a distant memory, and the end of your workday seems about a week away. That third cup of coffee is wearing off and you’re debating whether your stomach can handle a fourth. We’ve all been there — the afternoon slump — and we’ll all be there again. Some of us may even be reading this blog post in the midst of a 3 pm productivity tailspin.
If your afternoons are often more of an uphill battle than a victory lap, we’ve got news for you.

The bad:

The afternoon slump is more than just a marketing ploy. It’s not an attempt to sell you alien-shaped-sleep-at-your-desk pillows or productivity-boosting facial spray. The afternoon slump is very real. In fact, it’s a natural part of how the human brain works, and it’s pretty much unavoidable.

The good:

Because we understand the brain mechanism that contributes to the afternoon slump, we also understand how to mediate its effects. Below is a quick summary of the relevant research. Plus, we’ve included a few activities you can do at lunchtime or for a quick break to power past your PM lethargy.

The science:

Researchers at the University of Illinois conducted a study to determine what actually happens in your brain when you suddenly find it difficult to maintain focus after an extended period of work. The study measured groups of participants’ performance on a series of hour-long computer tasks. One group took two short breaks during the tasks, while the other took none. The only participants that exhibited no decline in performance over time were in the group taking the breaks.
The study results confirmed researchers’ hypothesis that the human brain’s ability to maintain constant focus eventually plateaus and then declines. It’s like how you notice a distinct smell when you first walk into a room but cannot smell it after half an hour. The results also confirmed their idea that the brain naturally revs up when one shifts focus.
Taken together, these findings suggest that a 5- to 10-minute break during a project requiring hours of sustained effort can naturally reinvigorate your ability to focus and promote maximum productivity.

Here are three of our favorite break-time activities to give your focus a chance to recharge and, according to science, enhance your brain function:

1. Daydreaming makes you a better problem solver.

Studies show that stepping away from a difficult project to do an unrelated and easy activity makes you more creative when you get back to work.

The evidence: This UC Santa Barbara study found that mind wandering boosts creative problem-solving skills. Subjects performed an Unusual Uses Task (UUT) — a traditional psychological measure where one lists as many uses for certain objects as possible. After the UUT, subjects engaged in either a cognitively demanding or undemanding task. Neuroscientists measured the subjects’ levels of mind wandering during these tasks, and found that those performing the undemanding task exhibited a much greater tendency to let their minds roam. All subjects then performed another UUT. Guess which group of subjects showed dramatic improvement in their second UUT? Yup, the daydreamers.

2. A 10-20 minute power nap between 1-3pm is better than a cup of coffee.

By timing it right, a short nap immediately recharges your brain’s ability to focus. Even better, it all happens without the subsequent drop in energy when the caffeine buzz wears off.

The evidence: A 2006 study on nap duration found that 10 up to 20 minutes is the ideal length of time for a power nap. Nappers who slept for more than 20 and up to 60 minutes exhibited sleep inertia for half an hour after they awoke. What is sleep inertia? It’s the scientific term for the grogginess you feel immediately after rising, and it’s definitively proven to seriously impair cognitive performance. A nap shorter than 20 minutes keeps your body from falling into the deeper levels of sleep known as slow-wave and REM sleep (the types of sleep that produce sleep inertia). Naps of this length are known to replenish attention and strengthen working memory.

3. Reading a novel makes you less stressed and happier.

Engaging with fiction tricks your brain into believing it’s in another world. In so doing, it relaxes you and strengthens your ability to empathize with others’ points of view.

The evidence: Numerous surveys comparing readers and non-readers — such as this one by Quick Reads and the University of Liverpool — find that people who read as little as 30 minutes per week experience less feelings of stress and depression, report 20% greater life satisfaction, and are better equipped to deal with difficult and unexpected situations. Neurological research has actually documented changes in brain connectivity as a result of novel reading and suggests that these changes enhance one’s ability to adopt other perspectives.

Workspace Psychology 101: Boost Your Mood, Motivation, and Productivity

Courtney Shipshock September 1, 2015

Even with the rapid growth of the freelancer economy and the increasing appeal of shared coworking spaces, the majority of us still work out of a single, personal workstation. It’s no secret that our surroundings — both indoor and outdoor — continually impact our psychological well-being and cognitive function. Everything from color design to your distance from the nearest window has a measurable effect on your mood and productivity.

Not everyone can move to a corner office or ask their boss for a custom built ergonomic workstation. So, we rounded up a few scientifically proven ways you can optimize your workspace. That way, you can keep your spirits high and your output in peak form.

Take charge of your decor.

The extent to which different people can personalize their workspace certainly varies. For some, it may be limited to the addition of a few framed photos. While others may have control over their surrounding paint color, adjustable lighting, etc. Regardless, research shows that exercising your maximum degree of influence over your workspace design is beneficial for your motivation and productivity.

Multiple studies led by Craig Knight at the University of Exeter measured workers’ mood and efficiency in varying levels of personalized workspaces in several industries. Self-reported surveys found that the more control people were given over their surroundings, the more engaged they were with their job and the more they identified with their employer. Two additional studies compared workers’ abilities to complete tasks in workspaces categorized as lean (bare and functional), enriched (decorated with plants and photos), and empowered (individuals allowed to design their area). People working in enriched spaces were 17% more productive than those in lean spaces, while their empowered counterparts were a whopping 32% more productive.

There’s no such thing as too much nature.

Indoor plants are perhaps the single best investment you can make in your workspace. Research overwhelmingly shows that office plants help workers recover from demanding activities, decrease stress, and even reduce office air pollution.

Here is a guide to desk plants that thrive in indoor office environments.

Here is a graphic of the best air-cleaning plants, according to NASA.

Curves are more relaxing than right angles.

There is a long history of scientific literature demonstrating the relationship between positive emotional responses and rounded shapes in design and architecture. More recent studies find this relationship extends to furniture and objects in our immediate surroundings.

A recent study led by Sibel Dazkir at Oregon State University looked at participants’ responses to four interior settings with varying degrees of rounded and hard-edged furniture. The two settings with a higher concentration of curves were significantly more inviting to participants and elicited higher amounts of pleasant-unarousing emotions (feeling relaxed, peaceful, and calm).

If possible, opt for a desk and chair that emphasize curves to foster tranquility in your workspace. If not, surround yourself with smaller objects that highlight fluid forms. For ideas, try adding a desk lamp, coffee mug, or potted plant.

Clutter promotes creativity.

Some appreciate the value of a tidy, organized desk. But others feel more at home amidst stacks of loose paper peppered with stray binder clips. Messy workspaces are strongly associated with enhanced creativity and more novel ideas.

This intriguing study led by Kathleen Vohs at the University of Minnesota confirmed the clutter-creativity connection. However, it also found participants in tidier workspaces were more likely to choose healthy snack options. The study finds that people in more orderly workstations are more likely to do what was expected of them. These findings suggest that levels of workspace organization and disorder influence and might even optimize the efficiency of one’s job. For example, a business analyst will likely prefer a more robust organizational structure than the in-house graphic designer.

Color affects cognition.

All colors and light levels have different psychological effects, so choose your colors and desk lighting accordingly. In a 2009 study, Ravi Mehta and Rui Zhu used a series of six computer-based activities to evaluate how red and blue affect cognition. Red facilitates greater attention to detail. Blue encourages exploration and creativity. Green promotes idea generation. Discover what mode of cognition your job requires the most, or what mode of cognition you feel comes least naturally to you. Then, try to work the relevant cognition-boosting color into your workspace.

Vacation: How to Digital Detox Without Going Off-Grid

Courtney Shipshock July 30, 2015

Vacation is for unplugging — right? According to this recent study, maybe not. Cloud networking company Pertino found that 59% of Americans check email and take work calls while on vacation. 35% even haul a hefty stack of their physical work files when they travel.

Many of us travel with electronic devices but insist that we will only use them in case of emergency. Are we the victims of wishful thinking? This meQuilibrium survey found that 61% of us check our devices within an hour of an alert — email, text, social media, or otherwise. A colossal 73% report that their devices contribute to stress in their lives.

Americans are apparently not very good at unplugging, but this isn’t entirely our fault. It is increasingly difficult to find a destination without cellular coverage or internet access. One can now enjoy wifi hotspots on Mount Fuji and the backs of Israeli donkeys.

Social technology expert Alexandra Samuel suggests asking this question when planning your vacation: what’s the least amount of work connectivity I can get away with? Most of us can’t afford and/or lack the immense willpower to take a 25-day-no-exceptions-internet-hiatus. Answering this question will allow us to make a healthy break from technology without severing all lines of communication.

Understanding the difference between your peers’ expectations and your own anxiety is key. Do you fear being out of the loop because your job depends on your ability to respond to every email ASAP, or do you simply strive for the proverbial Inbox Zero?

If you have upcoming travel plans but are anxious about powering down your devices, follow these tips for how to unplug without becoming disconnected:

Set shared expectations about tech use.

With your travel companions, make a list of the specific ways you want to use each of your devices and a schedule with time limits for each of your approved uses. You may agree that it’s okay to peruse email for 15 minutes at breakfast, but only acceptable to call into work in the event of a client emergency.

Have a smart out-of-office reply.

Include a secondary contact that your correspondents can reach if they need to, and let them know that you may not review every message you receive while traveling. Ask them to email you again if you don’t write back by X date after you return.

Buy a paperback.

Sure, e-readers are great, but chances are you won’t actually read more than a book or two while on vacation. Take this opportunity to enhance your memory with some deep reading and give your eyes a break from another screen.

Disable notifications.

They will only make it harder to stick with your technology schedule. Here are guides for turning off notifications on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows.

Designate a gatekeeper.

Choose somebody you trust who has a strong understanding of your job, most likely your manager or a close peer. Set up a vacation email account and provide only them with the address. Now you can stay apprised of anything seriously urgent without having to sift through all of your other communications in your daily work inbox.

Plan ahead for reentry.

Make a list of all your open projects, where you’ve left off, and what needs to be done while you’re away. Whoever is standing in for you can track progress more effectively. Plus, you can hit the ground running when you return.

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Best Friends Forever from 9-5

Courtney Shipshock July 9, 2015

Is your coworker also your close friend? Or is your close friend also your coworker?

Office friendships can be a great source of pleasure and support, but they can also be a challenge to navigate. Many have ambivalence toward forming deeper friendships with their colleagues for a number of reasons. Perhaps they worry about the potential for distraction, influence on decision making, or awkwardness during performance reviews. Despite these legitimate concerns, research on workplace friendships suggests they are crucial to both personal health and organizational success.

Friendships Alleviate Stress

In a breakthrough 1995 study, Christine Riordan and Rodger Griffeth found even the possibility of friendship formation increases both job satisfaction and organizational effectiveness. This finding takes on particular importance when considering that in 2014, 80% of Americans stressed over at least one thing at work. Furthermore, a 2013 Lifeboat report found a whopping three-quarters of Americans are not truly satisfied with their friendships. By more than 2:1, respondents said they would prefer a smaller number of deeper friendships to a greater number of friends. Given the increasing blur between work and home life, the office seems like a promising place to form deep friendships.

Friendships Foster Loyalty

In a recent post for Harvard Business Review, Riordan asserts that office friendships foster group loyalty. This, in turn, leads to shared commitment and discipline toward one’s work. Similarly, a 2012 Gallup report found that 50% of employees with a best friend at work felt a strong connection with their company. Meanwhile, only 10% felt this connection without one. In fact, “good relationship with coworkers” was the most frequently cited reason in a 2013 survey for 2,223 people planning to stay in their current job. Three studies by workforce intelligence company Evolv found employees referred by friends are less likely to quit and more productive. Consequently, employees trained in a “friendly” culture stayed with their employer twice as long as those who were not.

Friendships Improve Performance

In “The Best Place to Work,” psychologist Ron Friedman asserts that having close friends at work brings with it a number of benefits, like combating loneliness. Prolonged loneliness makes it more difficult for people to relax and fall asleep. In turn, this can lead to diminished cognitive function such as impaired memory formation and learning ability. Surrounded by friends means spending less time worrying about fitting in and pay more attention to our work. Personal connections between colleagues also boost motivation, because poor performance at work means letting down friends.

Friendships are not the only way to enhance productivity or boost engagement in the workplace. However, friendships are unique because their strength endures, and even grows when other standard retention incentives wane in a bad economy. Friends are an invaluable resource in the workplace. They provide an emotional support system and a network for helping to more efficiently execute one’s job. Friedman acknowledges making new friends can be scary because of the shared risk involved in disclosing personal details with an acquaintance. That being said, the above trends should encourage anyone who is hesitant about opening up to coworkers. The message is clear: a little vulnerability in the break room can go a long way.

PerkSpot takes an afternoon off for a Cubs game.

Seven Tips for Optimizing Your Sleep Strategy

Courtney Shipshock June 10, 2015

It’s 9 pm on Tuesday. You had a great day at work and an even better session at the gym. You made it home in time to cook a healthy dinner instead of picking up from the Thai place around the corner. It’s been too long since you did any pleasure reading and you’re looking forward to cracking open that new novel for a while before getting to bed early.

It’s now 12:43 am. The only light in your bedroom is the pale glow of your laptop. Your contacts are drying up because you haven’t blinked much in the last two hours. You only read four pages, but you did add thirty-odd titles to your Netflix queue and viewed every last one of your best friend’s Facebook photos in reverse chronological order.

You’re not alone.

In June 2014, researchers at Utrecht University in the Netherlands coined the term “bedtime procrastination” in their study of why people often fail to go to sleep at their intended time despite the absence of external circumstances preventing them from doing so. 84% of the sample reported feeling that they slept too little at least once a week. 30% reported sleeping 6 hours or less on weeknights — far less than the 7 to 9 hours recommended by the National Sleep Foundation. A recent Gallup poll found that Americans currently average 6.8 hours of sleep a night. 40% sleep less than 7 hours a night. In the 1940s, this number was only 11%.

The ongoing trend in 21st-century sleepiness is particularly alarming because sleep is as essential to physical and mental health as oxygen and water. During sleep, your body repairs and restores itself on the cellular level. Sleep is also critical for allowing the brain to embed the things we’ve learned and experienced throughout the day.

The Science of Sleep

It should come as no surprise, then, that excessive sleepiness is linked to slow thought processing and diminished capacity to assess information, resulting in compromised problem-solving skills, impaired judgment, and decreased productivity in the workplace. Longterm lack of sleep is known to increase one’s risk for a myriad of health problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, mood disorders, weakened immune function, and risk for alcohol abuse. Poor sleep quality is also linked to longterm loss of grey matter, which makes up brain regions responsible for muscle control, sensory perception, memory, and decision making.

If you often find yourself inexplicably awake during the wee hours, psychologist Ron Friedman suggests doing a “nighttime audit” of how you spend your time after work. Simply log everything that happens from the moment you head home until you go to bed. After a few evenings, evaluate your data: why don’t you get to sleep at your desired time? Are you out late for social plans? Taking care of unfinished tasks? Perhaps you just enjoy the personal time and the world feels calmest several hours after the sun goes down.

Once you identify your motivation for staying awake later, see if you can find some activities in your post-work routine that doesn’t further your goals, and reduce time spent on these. If you stay up late to read but record that you spend 1.5 hours per evening texting and video chatting with friends, see if you can limit that time to 45 minutes and/or set a firm deadline in your evening when you will unplug from your communication devices. You may find it helpful to set a reminder when it is time to power down for the night.

Time management isn’t always the main obstacle for the chronically under-slept. Sometimes we simply don’t feel tired even when we know we should. If you don’t struggle to get under the sheets in time for 7-9 hours of shuteye, here are some tips that may help you fall asleep.

Minimize blue light exposure:

All of our screens emit blue light. Exposure to these blue wavelengths suppresses our natural production of melatonin, a hormone that makes us feel sleepy. Studies have found that using amber tinted blue-blocking glasses can counter this effect and create a “physiological darkness” that improves sleep quality and mood.

Use bright light to your advantage:

Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight when you wake up in the morning. This will help your body maintain its circadian rhythms and balance your sleep cycle.

Avoid eating 3 hours before sleep:

Dr. Jamie Koufman notes that working adults’ eating habits are becoming increasingly worse for sleep health. Many adults don’t eat much throughout the day. They cram in one huge meal in the late evening due to long work hours and further delays caused by shopping and exercise. A healthy adult body takes several hours to empty the stomach. Going to sleep before this process completes often leads to acid reflux, indigestion, and heartburn. Prolonged reflux disease can increase one’s risk for esophageal cancer.

If you must eat before bed, try these:

A growling stomach can make it just as difficult to fall asleep as acid reflux. Rather than starve yourself, check out the National Sleep Foundation’s list of bedtime-appropriate snacks.

Regulate your caffeine intake:

Although you may only feel its effects for a short period right after you drink it, caffeine has a half-life of 5.3 to 5.7 hours. This means that nearly 6 hours after you have a cup of coffee, half of its caffeine is still present in your body. Ingesting 200mg of caffeine — the equivalent of 16oz of coffee — in the early evening is shown to reduce sleep efficiency and disrupt the natural stages of sleep. If you routinely drink coffee near the end of the day, consider switching to tea.

Exercise promotes efficient sleep:

Moderate to vigorous exercise for 150 minutes per week is shown to improve sleep quality up to 65%. Participants in this study also reported feeling less tired during the day than their less active counterparts even when they slept the same amount the night before.

Turn down the thermostat:

The National Sleep Foundation recommends 60-67 degrees for the optimal sleep temperature. Your body decreases its temperature to initiate sleep, so you will fall asleep more easily in a cooler environment.

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