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The topic of productivity, personal effectiveness and success at work has always been a relevant one due to the number of working population all over the world. Luckily, over the course of several decades psychologists have made remarkable discoveries in the field of personal effectiveness that supposedly should help to achieve the increase of productivity level at any kind of work. The second part of the article by David Rock, which would be further discussed, reveals findings regarding the increase of productivity; it is a research-based advice of how and when make use of a caffeine, alcohol and exercise. rnTo begin with, “Psychology Today” presents the article “5 big discoveries about personal effectiveness in 2013” by David Rock, which introduces five major findings on the topic of personal effectiveness at work that were found over the past year. First of all, according to the author, open plan offices usually play against you in terms of productivity, possible stress level, and general well-being. The same effects one can get by working without having enough sleep that equals as working while being drunk (according to Dr. Charles Czeisler at Harvard Medical School), and that definitely decreases the cognitive abilities, and general performance at work. Another observation about multitasking actually proves that people, who tend to multitask a lot, actually are less successful at it than those who multitask rarely. Finally, as the research shows, incorporating too much technology at work is not making people any more productive. The last point mentioned in the article reveals the research findings on how and wherewith to lift oneself in the midst of the working process. All in all, the author is looking forward for the evidence that he provided to be given a thought, and hopefully to bring change into the society. rnI will try to unfold the fifth point of the article because I find it utterly necessary to be able to retain one’s strengths, and author gives valuable advice on how to do it correctly. Almost every working person had ever had the feeling exhaustion especially during the workweek, in such case he or she might resort to some kind of ‘stimulating agent’ (for example, caffeine, alcohol or workout), but research has proven that there is time for each. rnIn the first place, I was surprised to learn that alcohol (in a moderate amount, of course) actually helps when the assignment is to create something new. One study discovered that a moderate amount of alcohol activates the region in the brain responsible for thought and language helping to generate new thoughts. Frankly speaking, I am not sure if this method would help me to write a numerous number of papers and projects, but it is a research-proven suggestion and I do not have any objections against it. So, according to this research, alcohol in moderate amount activates the region in the brain helping to come up with new ideas. rnPursuing this further, in another scenario, when there is a need to deal with distractions or focus on developing the idea, coffee is one of the best ways to cover these problems. It is common knowledge now that caffeine ‘awakes’ our brain, helps us to concentrate and complete motor tasks relatively faster. From personal experience I can tell that I used coffee to make me generate ideas for the papers and projects, and definitely it was the worst idea ever. I felt as if I am torturing my brain with coffee forcing to do the job it just is not supposed to do under the influence of caffeine. Even though the person gets used to the coffee pretty quickly, and the same amount consumed dozens of times will not boost the person in the same way, coffee is still considered globally popular stimulant. rnLast, but surely not the least factor in making the working days more productive is regular exercising. Research has proven that those who exercise during the workweek are 23% more productive than those who don’t. Even though everyone knows how beneficial exercising is in terms of keeping the tonus of the muscles, keeping the brain cells active and fast in processing information, and keeping the good memory, far not everyone makes it his or her habit. For example, when I feel down or stressed and I have few hours in reserve, most likely I would go jogging in order to run away from this kind of mood, and definitely keep myself fit. Therefore, I agree with the author that regular exercising is the best way to help oneself to increase the productivity level. rnAll in all, David Rock in his article about personal effectiveness mentioned four discoveries that actually decrease the productivity level, such as, open-plan offices, the lack of sleep, frequent multitasking, and too much technology. While the fifth point of the article was to give the research-based suggestions how to increase the productivity level, for example with the help of coffee, alcohol and exercise. In final consideration, personally I think that such kind of articles are of a real help, at least people become more aware about themselves, and have suggestions on how to improve, while it is up to them to decide whether to take that advice or not.