Best Results Organizing

WHY IT’S HARD TO STAY PRODUCTIVE WHEN IT’S HOT

It’s no surprise that when we’re uncomfortably warm, we get cranky. We perspire and our clothes stick to us. Our skin chafes and our hair sticks to our necks. We stick to our leather or vinyl car seats or desk chairs. Our mouths get dry, and those sharing our space (be they work peers or life partners) annoy us more.

But it’s not just mere crankiness and discomfort.

Hot weather is linked to everything icky from mild irritability to aggression, headaches and reduced motivation to decreased memory, focus, and cognition. It seems like productivity doesn’t stand a chance.  

The Science Behind “It’s Too Darn Hot”

According to a 2018 study conducted at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, students in dorms without air conditioning during a heat wave performed significantly worse on cognitive tests than their peers who were able to (literally) chill out, and their reaction times were slower. Elementary school students (and their teachers) in hot classrooms suffer similarly.

Other studies, such as by Soloman Hsiang and Jesse Anttila-Hughes (who study economics and public policy), Joshua Graff Zivin and Matthew Neidell (in global policy and economic research), and Shin-ichi Tanabe, a professor of architecture at Waseda University in Tokyo (studying “thermal comfort”) found that for ever 1° degree rise in temperature beyond 77° degrees Fahrenheit (~25° Celsius), productivity dropped approximately 2%. Each used different measures and models, and the percentages ranged from 1.8% to 2.4″ celsius, but going with an average 2% seems pretty sound.

Over the course of the typical workday, this works out to thirty minutes less work completed — for ever single degree rise in temperature. (If you’re a peri-menopausal or menopausal woman, I suspect you, like I, think that productivity drop starts much lower than 77°; if you’re one of those people who is always complaining that it’s too cold with the air conditioning on in your office, I respectfully submit that today’s blog post may not be for you. As noted, heat makes one cranky!)

A study published in PLOS Medicine in 2018 found a correlation between high indoor temperatures and impaired working memory and decision-making, particularly for tasks that required focus or logic. 

Long story short, being hot isn’t cool if you hope to get anything done.

In fact, researchers at the Helsinki University of Technology and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that the performance of people who work in offices (or what is now generally called “knowledge work”) peaks at around 71.6°F (22°C). So, being able to maintain a fairly cool (or at least tepid) and comfortable office temperature is key to our productivity.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature is on a warpath and doesn’t seem to care whether we get our work done.

Why Productivity Declines When We’re Having a Cruel Summer

We humans are like Goldilocks, built for the middle ground, and we prefer our porridge neither too hot nor too cold. Our bodies go into survival mode when we get hot. Our body’s integumentary system diverts resources from elsewhere and toward cooling ourselves such that:

• perspiration increases — Glands in our skin get stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system to produce sweat. (Yes, I know. “Horses sweat, men perspire, ladies glow.” But when it’s 94° outside, I’m glowing like a nuclear reactor. Feh.) As our perspiration evaporates, it carries heat away, effectively cooling us and lowering our body temperature.
• vasodilation occurs — This is a fancy way of saying that blood vessels in the middle layer of skin, the dermis, widen. It increases blood flow to the skin’s surface, so excess heat gets released (through radiation and convection, which makes it sound like our bodies are built out of spare microwave ovens).

Meanwhile, as this is going on, the hypothalamus serves as a bodily thermostat, controlling thermo-regulation. Thermoreceptors in the body send signals and triggers our systems to either dissipate heat (to keep us cool) or generate it (for those office dwellers who truly do find the A/C too strong) to keep our internal temperatures stable. 

The problem? When it’s hot, all those resources used to cool us down leave our organs (including our brains) with less energy to keep things running. Uh, oh.

So it’s not surprising that when we’re hot, our executive function capabilities drop. That means less mental acuity and power for attention, working memory, planning and organization, task initiation, problem solving, metacognition (thinking about our thinking), time management, and so on.

To keep our bodies from feeling like burnt toast, our cognition departs. Next window, please!

Additionally, when we’re dehydrated, our ability to focus is severely limited.

Even a mild case of dehydration (defined as 1-2% loss in body weight from water) can cause headaches, impair our concentration, reduce our short-term memory, and crash our math skills.

Just in case the heat had already worn you out, I’d like to point out that productivity and organizing skills are dependent upon concentration, short-term memory, and (argh, sometimes even) math skills so that we can focus on what to do, prioritize tasks, recognize patterns, make qualitative decisions, and figure out what goes where. 

When it’s too darn hot, our bodies do what they have to, and sometimes that means shutting down our means of production (that is, cognition and productivity). That doesn’t mean we can’t take our own actions to keep our goals from running off the rails, but we’re going to have to take some extra precautions to keep us from losing control during a cruel summer.

MODIFY YOUR SCHEDULE ON HOT DAYS

Be patient with yourself (and your colleagues and anyone you supervise) with regard to pace of productivity. If the heat is wearing you down and you’re not on an unrelenting deadline, move non-essential tasks to when Heat Miser isn’t trying to make you miserable.

(I dare you to not listen. Just don’t get up and dance. It’s too hot.)

Reorganize your workload so you tackle your highest priorities and deliverables but give yourself permission to let low-priority tasks wait a few days until the A/C (and your brain) is at full blast.

Time-shift your productivity. Embrace the Mediterranean and South American models and take a siesta. If possible, get your deep work done early in the morning and schedule light, less brain-intensive tasks during those hot midday hours. To get a handle on this international approach to dealing with steamy workdays, embrace the advice in my post Take a Break for Productivity — The International Perspective.

If you, like Paper Doll, are a night owl, see if you can schedule follow-up tasks (particularly those where you don’t have to interact with others) in the cooler evening hours. Save your admin, reading, email-checking, and light decluttering (avoiding the attic or garage) for after twilight.

Remember other breaks, too. The productivity strategies we’ve discussed at length at Paper Doll HQ over the years, like the Pomodoro Technique, or the approach discussed in Frogs, Tomatoes, and Bees: Time Techniques to Get Things Done, accent the importance of employing breaks to clear your head.

For more on these kinds of breaks, see Take a Break — How Breaks Improve Health and Productivity.

REDESIGN YOUR WORKSPACE TO BEAT THE HEAT…

If you work from home, consider working in the coolest room in your house. Get away from windows and trade that hot, bright midday sunlight for more subdued lighting.

Do the limbo, by which I mean, go lower!

Heat rises, so you may just find it cooler to get down on the floor to work. And when the atmosphere in your home is steamy, basements are often darker and cooler. If you don’t have a finished basement, it may lack the creature comforts you depend upon, but when the alternative is suffering while your A/C limps along to cope with the heat, you may not mind roughing it. Think of hanging out in the basement as similar to camping out, only with running water, a nearby fridge, and bathroom facilities.

Use blackout curtains (or at least pull down your shades and close your curtains). Position fans to create a cross-breeze — but either don’t point them directly at your workspace; otherwise, grab some coasters or cans from the kitchen to use as paperweights. If you have to chase your papers all over the room, you’re going to feel hot and bothered, not cool and collected.

OR, RELOCATE YOUR WORKSPACE TO WHERE IT’S COOLER

If your air conditioning has conked out or is on the way to its final reward, or if you never had an A/C to begin with, consider relocating your workspace elsewhere for the days the heat is oppressive. Some options include:

• the public library — Although you generally need a library card to check materials out, any member of the public can occupy table space and enjoy the air conditioning and rest room facilities of the public library.
• a college library — University libraries are more likely to limit access to current students, faculty, and staff. However, if you’re an alum, or if there’s a university (or perhaps a community college) nearby with more lenient policies, you may find a cool, quiet place (perhaps a carrel in the graduate student stacks) to focus for a few hours.
• a coffee house — Long before COVID drove people to work remotely from home, coffee houses were the in spot for creating your own remote office. Just be sure to buy food or beverages in exchange for that free Wi-Fi, and tip your servers.
• a cafeteria space — Massive stores like IKEA and Costco often have food courts or cafeterias. If you’ve got noise-canceling headphones, get yourself some gravlax or a hot dog, tuck yourself into a corner, cool down, and focus with an un-fried brain.
• a hotel lobby or business center — Most cities have hotel conference centers with lots of empty/unused space. Think of all the times you’ve been at a conference and tucked yourself away in a quiet corner to read or a make a call without schlepping all the way to your room. 
• your local community center — Many community centers are remodeled schools with a variety of rooms, and most community centers have quiet spaces set aside for working or studying.
• a friend’s house — I’m not saying to descend on a friend’s house and take over her dining room or guest room. But if you’ve got friends who love you and they have the chilly air that you’re lacking, especially if they’ll be off to their offices, why not ask? You’d do the same for them, right? 
• a co-working space — While co-working spaces likely won’t be free, you may be able to buy an inexpensive day pass. Google “co-working” and your geographic location, or check out and online directory, like CoWorker, Liquid Space, or Co-Working Cafe.

REDUCE YOUR TECH TO KEEP YOUR COOL

Digital devices are hot, hot, hot!

Have you ever noticed how your lap gets extraordinarily taosty when you’ve had your laptop balanced on your legs for a while? Have you ever touched the back of your desktop computer on a hot day? Yikes!

On days when the heat is excessive, use less electricity and feel less burnt out by making changes to how you use your computer and mobile devices:

• Dim your monitor’s brightness — The brighter your computer or phone, the more battery and energy your screen is using, and the more heat it may give off.
• Close unused browser tabs — Too many open tabs in your brain keeps you from working at top speed; the same goes for your browser. If that article has been sitting in an open tab on your computer for weeks, you’re probably never going to read it. If you’re not inclined to read it today, save it to Evernote, add a bookmark, or ask ChatGPT to summarize it for you. 
• Unplug chargers and unnecessary lights and devices — They radiate heat and add to your discomfort during a heat wave.
• Unplug yourself — If you’re not on a deadline, go analog! Power down your laptop or desktop and grab a notebook. Obviously, you aren’t going to replace email with passing notes (across the country), but if you just need to write a draft or brainstorm, power down your tech. Conserve the energy — your devices’ and your own.

PRACTICE SELF-CARE WHEN THE TEMPERATURES RISE

You know that your car won’t work as well in extreme heat. You need to check the radiator, keep the fluids topped off, shade your windshield, maintain a fairly full gas tank. You need to take similar precautions to keep yourself running smoothly.

• Hydrate — Keep one of those recyclable bottles (whether it’s named Stanley or YETI or nicknamed George Clooney) on hand. Fill it with icy water (and not caffeinated beverages) to sip throughout the day. Use a visual water tracker (like a bottle with time markers) or try a hydration app to prompt you to drink more. Popular apps include WaterLlama, HydroCoach, and Waterful (which has a cute Octopus mascot — you hydrate to keep him (and yourself) healthy).

• Eat smaller meals more often, and focus on snacks with high water makeup, like salads and fruits (hello, watermelon!), and select lean proteins. Reduce excess sodium intake. A heavy meal full of fats, carbs, and sodium make us sloth-like and lethargic at any time of year. Add high temperatures, and the 3 o’clock slump becomes the all-afternoon crash-out.
• Nap —The more we are exposed to heat, the less time we spend sleeping, and the pejorative effects are stronger during heat waves (like this heat dome kerfuffle). 
• Relax your dress code — No, don’t show up to Teams meetings or Zoom calls in your PJs. But switch out form-fitting clothes for looser cuts (and looser weaves) to let the air circulate around you.
• Brush your teeth — I mean, I hope you’re probably already brushing your teeth. But there’s something about a minty fresh mouth that helps cool your system down.
• Run your wrists under cold water or rest them on soft, squishy ice packs (like chilly wrist rests) while typing or reading.
• Consider a personal cooling tool device. — A few years ago, Paper Mommy bought me a bladeless neck fan and it directs a lovely (and not-too-noisy) breeze up under my hair, cooling my neck and head. (Readers: Don’t tell, but I’m running it right now!)

• Check in with others — on your team, in your neighborhood, in your family. Heat reduces our mental energy and sometimes capacity to take care of ourselves, so we need to do what we can to take care of one another. Heat can make us anxious, and connecting with others (and maybe stopping to take a Popsicle break with them) can help us feel less out of sorts.

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In much of the country, temperatures are going to be in the 90s and even over 100° this week, and we’re only (officially) a few days into the summer. Productivity is important, but endangering your mental and physical health in the short term is a recipe for declining productivity in the mid- and long-term.

Pace yourself, relocate, use less tech, and take care of your body and your brain. The work will still be there when the temperature comes down.