Nobody likes change. Throughout the year, we start to realize deep down certain aspects of ourselves and our work we can improve on, but figure we will address it at another time. Making these small changes could make our lives so much easier, yet it is so difficult sometimes to actually find the time to do it. That is why a milestone such as the start of a new year can be a perfect opportunity to begin implementing necessary steps to reach our goal to be better workers. Below are four work qualities whose attention can benefit many at the start of a new year:
1. Organization
Making adjustments to be more organized on the job will not only make your workday easier, it will make you feel calmer in general. You can start with organizing your desk and getting rid of any junk that is taking up space. Since paperwork is an ongoing issue for many employees, it is likely that you could benefit from a better digital as well as hard copy filing system, and also making sure you have all important documents backed up. Knowing your documents are safe and easy to find should bring a huge relief. Other small changes that can go a long way include managing your passwords in a safe place, updating your calendar and to-do lists, budgeting paychecks and sorting e-mails into categories (as well as deleting junk e-mail and messages you no longer need).
2. Awareness
Nobody can perform at their highest potential on the job or in any other area of life if they lack awareness. It is so easy to let outside distractions and stress affect our mood and concentration on the task at hand, which can lead to mistakes and cause our workday to drag out longer than it needs to. So make a decision to start the New Year off with more awareness. Many don’t realize the impact that small, simple routine such as exercise, meditation, elimination of distractions, getting more sleep and minor diet improvements can have on clearing and sharpening the mind. Self-awareness is also key on the job, since it allows us to recognize our strengths and weaknesses, learn from mistakes, identify bad habits, adjust to change and recognize opportunity when it presents itself. For some insightful tips on improving self-awareness, check out the Lifehacker.com article The Importance of Self-Awareness, and How to Become More Self-Aware.
3. Communication
Most workplaces can improve on their methods of communication. It affects the pace and quality of work, and how comfortable employees feel in the workplace. One important communication aspect that your workplace may want to make progress in is addressing problems and issues right when they happen. It is very easy to ignore certain issues when they occur and hope they will go away, which only affects the quality of work down the line. Another key aspect that will develop better workplace communication is to try to be better about keeping others updated on the status of projects. Also, it is important to make sure you are being clear to co-workers and superiors anything they can do to make your job easier and more effective. Finally, it may be a good idea to assess how effectively you are using technology such as e-mail, texting and Skype to communicate. While these methods have advanced workplace communication in many ways, it is easy to get lazy with them so they have a negative effect. An article that addresses communication technology and the best way to use it is 6 Ways to Become a Better Communicator on Time.com.
4. Efficiency
A good goal for the New Year for any employee is to get more work done more accurately and effectively, and this doesn’t necessarily mean work longer hours. There is no worse feeling that leaving work feeling that you got nothing done, yet you were there for longer than needed. That can have a huge negative affect on your job, as well as the rest of your life (first and foremost your overall happiness). Making small changes to how we work, instead of how long we work, can make a huge difference in the amount we get done and the quality of the work itself. This could be as simple as finding better software to assist you, cutting back on personal affairs during the workday, and setting deadlines. More information on these, as well as other adjustments that can your workday more productive, can be found in the Askmen.com article 7 Ways to Be More Efficient at Work.
Jessica Cody
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