Power-pose, power-nap and 70 decibels: a few tips to help you perform better and stay in shape

In today's fast-moving world of work, you need to learn more and more and constantly improve your own performance to stay at the top of your career. There are many avenues open to you, and much of the coaching industry thrives on promoting every possible combination of these slogans. The Swiss professional association for "coaching, supervision and organisational consultancy" alone lists nearly 1,400 professionalprofessional coaches on its website, nearly 600 of whom have "career/career review" as the main theme in their areas of consultation.

But most career advice and training for professional success costs not only money, but also a lot of time. Yet there are tricks that make it easier to succeed. At first sight, this may seem contradictory, because professional success is not in fact easy to achieve, or is sometimes simply not forthcoming. So the old adage "no pain, no gain" still applies. For those who achieve nothing will never manage anything or, at the very least, will not climb the career ladder sustainably, not to mention that the definition of success is not limited to these aspects alone.

But since you're working anyway, there are already a few scientifically-based strategies, tips and tricks to increase your chances of going from hard-working bee to queen, or king, in a human hive. To do this, you don't have to put in any more effort than before, but simply work a little differently. How exactly does it work? That's what the following tricks show you, which will promote your success, make you more creative, more productive, more motivated and more confident.

Career tip 1: work in a café to get ideas

Where are great ideas born and creative tasks solved? At least not when teleworking from home, because it's too quiet, and not in the office either, because it's often too noisy. According to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, we are most creative at moderate noise levels of around 70 dB.

A background noise unrelated to work is very conducive to the deployment of your imagination and ingenuity, and, according to Rui Juliet Zhu Amar Cheema, co-author of the study, ambient noise in a café is beneficial, for example. "Our measurements show that a moderate level of noise increases the speed of processing in the brain and makes it possible to achieve a higher level of mental construction. What's more, in an environment deemed pleasant, stress is reduced, which can release mental blocks and thus stimulate creativity," explains the researcher.

Career boost 2: reduce stress while sitting

Speaking of stress: it's bad for your health, your body and, above all, your career. A person who is stressed for long periods of time cannot think in terms of results, because "the neurotransmitters noradrenaline and cortisol block the areas of the brain that control goal-directed behaviour. When there is a surplus of stress hormones in the brain, people resort to known patterns of behaviour instead of adapting to the given situation", report cognitive psychologists from Ruhr University in the specialist journal Journal of Neuroscience.

Your thoughts then go round in circles and, instead of finding new solutions, you risk running into old problems.

"Anyone who wants to achieve greater success should therefore start by reducing, not their working hours, but the things that prevent them from working in a relaxed and therefore creative, goal-oriented way.tense and therefore creative, results-oriented yet effective", explains psychologist Heidi Hanna, author of The Sharp Solution. It's not about inflicting extra stress on your body, but helping it to relax while your brain continues to work at full speed.

Here's a tip: sit properly. According to a study from the University of Alberta Hospital in Canada, sitting too upright contributes to stress, and not just in your back. On the other hand, you're sitting relaxed at your desk when your back and thighs form a 135-degree angle while your feet are firmly planted on the floor. "Apart from the back, this position also takes the pressure off the head, because it tells the brain that it's not in flight mode, even if the deadline is approaching or the stresses of the day are too great.It tells the brain that it's not in flight mode, even if the deadline is approaching or if superiors are exerting pressure in some other way", explains Waseem Bashir, head of the study. "As a result, we are better able to think things through."

Career tip 3: adopt an attitude of success

But it's not just through good posture that you can improve your results. It's also in the so-called power posing position, standing still, that you activate a confident and determined state of mind, say researchers at Harvard University. The results of their research into the power of non-verbal communication were presented by study leader and social psychologist Amy Cuddy, including in a widely viewed TED Talk.

You have to imagine the power stance a bit like Wonder Woman's on the movie posters: straight and proud, legs spaced apart, feet firmly planted on the ground and fists resting on hips. "It only takes two minutes to become a hero," says Amy Cuddy. "This is because the posture leads to hormonal changes: it increases testosterone and decreases cortisol. So the brain is configured to make you feel more powerful, more assertive and more confident. Through body position, we influence our opinion of ourselves."

During the experiment, Cuddy and her team were able to show that, thanks to posture, not only were participants' self-esteem improved, but also the performance perceived by others. As a result, the participants in the study who had done power posing beforehand reflected a better image of themselves during a simulated job interview and were more likely to be recruited.

Career boost 4: treat yourself to a power-nap

As well as power posing, power napping is also a winning strategy. In fact, a little nap in the early afternoon increases productivity, as it improves cognitive performance, according to the results of a meta-analysis. In Japan, for example, dozing with your head on the table after lunch is part of everyday office life.

In Google's California offices, employees have entire relaxation areas for even more optimal power napping. And Indian start-up Wakefit even imposes microsnapping on its staff and accepts no appointments between 2pm and 2.30pm.

According to one study, ten minutes of napping is already enough for optimum effect, but napping for more than 20 minutes is not recommended, as blood circulation is at its lowest by then. According to the experts, the best results are obtained by scheduling a nap after a meal, so that the body can use its energy for digestion. In addition, drinking a large glass of water and rinsing your face, and wrists, with cold water can invigorate you after your nap.

Career tip 5: arrange microbreaks

Have you just had a nap that you're already being asked to take another break to be more efficient? Yes, exactly. It's not news that taking breaks during work doesn't lower productivity, it actually increases it. A team of Romanian researchers recently reviewed no fewer than 22 studies conducted over the last 30 years as part of a meta-analysis and the result showed that micropauses are the most effective, meaning a break that lasts between a few seconds and ten minutes maximum. They restore your energy, make you more attentive, more efficient, more motivated and less tired.

The people who benefit most from microbreaks are those who have routine or creative work. For fairly simple tasks, done in passing as if on autopilot, little downtime reduces the risk of careless mistakes. And for creative activities, micro-interruptions allow you to think more flexibly and so come up with new ideas.

You can make the most of the break when you use it to do something completely unrelated to work, from bending your knees to doing a breathing exercise or simply looking out of the window. The authors of the study did not identify how often or at what precise moment you should interrupt your work. However, Dr Ben Waber, a researcher at the MIT Media Lab, who looked into the results of the study, stresses that you should "plan breaks strategically, otherwise it quickly becomes procrastination". For routine tasks, for example, you could set a timer that goes off after 45, 60 or 90 minutes. For creative activities or complex cognitive tasks, you should allocate breaks not according to the clock, but after you've reached certain milestones. "Because if you interrupt a creative or thinking process along the way, it can take at least 15 minutes after the break before you reach a high level of performance again," notes Waber.