12 Habits for Better Work
There is working hard and then there is working smart. When you work smart, you maximize your potential to be as efficient as possible while streamlining and boosting your overall success.
Working hard is a cornerstone to being successful in whatever you do, but when you add working smart to the process, it catapults you to new heights. Here are twelve tips to help you work smart:
1. Plan your work around your Natural Biorhythms
Things Successful People Do Before 8 AM
If you are a natural morning person, plan your most important tasks earlier in the day. If you come alive late at night, work with your natural biorhythms to boost your productivity.
There’s an old saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” If you know you lose to the midday slugs every day, give in and plan a powernap for twenty minutes about that time. You can always add twenty minutes to your schedule earlier or later in the day when you are most productive and will reap the reward for it later.
2. Set daily Mini Goals and allocate specific timeframes within your day to Accomplish them
When people fail to plan, they plan to fail. Complete each mini goal before you move on to the next goal. At the end of the day, look back at all the mini tasks you accomplished during the day. It’s a great motivator to help you start planning your mini goals for the next day.
3. Take care of yourself first
It goes without saying that when you are not at your best, you won’t do your best work. Get a good night’s sleep, take a multi-vitamin, eat well and exercise. As simple as these things are, they are the first things to go when pressures begin to mount.
And when the pressure rises, that’s when you need the extra edge that comes from taking care of yourself.
4. Take frequent short Breaks
Walk away from what you are doing to get a fresh perspective. A brief change of scenery or mental rest can stimulate your motivation and creativity resulting in a higher quality of work and an overall happier work experience. All work and no play makes a dull person and subpar work!
5. Be Organized
Chaos only begets more chaos. Limit multi-tasking as much as possible. It may seem like you are being productive at the time, but handling too many tasks at the same time leaves too many opportunities to make mistakes.
If you want to really soar in your endeavors, be as organized as possible in every area of your project. A well organized plan becomes a well executed plan.
6. Foster a Social Network
No one is an island and we all need support from time to time. By taking time to feed the important relationships in your life, you’ll have the support you need to really shine in whatever you do.
7. Listen to your Inner thoughts
Gain Your Emotional Intelligence
If your inner voice is saying “This isn’t right,” or “It’s time to stop,” listen to that voice. Going with your gut can give your work a special focus that sets you apart from the rest.
8. Self-Improvement
Whenever you do something to improve yourself in one area of your life, the benefits always spill over into other areas of your life as well. If you want to be better in one area of your life, improve another. The different areas of our lives are connected in many ways. Developing one area of your life can give you better work habits in another,
9. Have the Right Attitude no matter what the Task or Situation
Be a glass half-full kind of person. Refuse to believe the glass is half empty. The right attitude can go a long way towards making your work unique and special.
10. Think outside of the box Build a better widget
Just because it has been done one way in the past doesn’t mean that is the best way to do something. Give yourself permission to expand the boundaries and your work will take new directions.
11. Prioritize
Certain things must come first in order to be efficient and effective. If you tried to drive to work and then get dressed, it might not work out so well for you. Really spend some time contemplating which items needs to come first and why.
Once you have a better understanding of the appropriate order things should happen, you’ll be on your way to achieving a more satisfying work experience.
12. Be Flexible
Life happens and things don’t always work out as planned. Being rigid only adds to the stress when these types of situations occur. A flexible approach will help you navigate back to a place where you can pick up where you left off and resume your progress.
Like most things in life, developing healthy habits leads to success. Whatever you do, make sure you are practicing the right work habits to give you the greatest chance for success. The results will speak for themselves.
