Improve yourself in 2021 with these work habits
It's tradition at this stage to set resolutions that we never stick to. Many of us spend time coming up with an elaborate plan for the New Year to overhaul our routines – but how often do you actually stick to them? The pitfall for most, is merely making it past the first few days. We’re very habitual creatures, which makes its quite difficult to develop new habits. The trick is to start off slow; don’t overpromise yourself, simply pick one or two things to develop slowly. Once you have incorporated those into your normal routine, that’s when you can start to add more tasks and improvements in. Another problem that faces most people, is they don’t factor in where and when they can improve their habits. If you pick things to improve at when home, there’s a big chance you’ll find it difficult to commit. Once you finish your workday, its very hard to try and challenge yourself to do something outside of your typical routine. So if you’re not used to going for a run or walk after work, trying to commit to one every single day is going to be extremely difficult.Going back to the concept of picking where and when to improve your habits – since you spend most of your day in work, wouldn’t it make sense to develop new work habits that would make your life easier? By advancing your work routine, you’ll not only become more productive, but it will often make work more enjoyable.On that note, here are our suggestions of habits that can be incorporated into your work routine in 2021. We suggest only picking one, and once they’ve become standard practice you can try another:
Make time for professional development
You may have worked and/or studied very hard to get where you are now. But it may not get you further. In today’s working world, the processes, knowledge and practices in every single industry are rapidly changing and developing – so if you don’t open yourself up to new learning and development, there’s a chance you’ll be left behind. Lifelong learning is a necessity, not a luxury and it’s often up to you to make time for that. But to achieve this, you need to pick out time in the week for professional development. Now we’re not saying jump in at the deep end and look for a huge commitment such as a degree or online course with multiple hours a week. Start off smaller by looking for one day webinars, or weekend training courses that only requires a couple of hours every few weeks. Or you could take a couple of hours every week to research online on the latest practices in your industry. Even dig into what your competitors are doing. Sometimes we’re so focused on what we’re doing ourselves in work, that we never take the chance to examine how other people approach problems. There’s a lot to learn by examining the different solutions and approaches.We encourage you to also talk to your employer about your willingness to learn. They may not be in a position to support you financially, but they might give you some time in your work schedule for development. It’s often in their best interest, as you’ll learn many new things that could directly benefit your company along the way.
Take regular breaks away from screens
This is a lot ‘simpler’ than our previous suggestion in theory. However, in practice its actually quite a difficult habit to build up. Experts have advised for years now to take short breaks during the day away from screens. It gives you a chance to step away, mentally recharge and reduce strain on your eyes. Despite reducing the amount of time you spend in front of the screen, it’s been extensively tested that short frequent breaks improve your focus and productivity. There are a few ways to do this, but the most common way is to set a timer. The timing depends on what works for you, but the main thing is to stick to the routine. Every 25-30 minutes take a 5-minute break, or try it on a one-hour schedule of 10 minutes every hour. You should still take a longer break every 4 to 5 hours, but the main focus is to get away from screens. For your short breaks, don’t use it as a chance to look at your phone or catch up on work calls. Get up from your desk, take a walk around and maybe grab a drink or a tiny snack. Once you’re in a routine with the smaller breaks, try and find something other than your phone or social media to occupy you on your longer break. Take the time to do some exercise, read a book, or listen to some music – whatever works for you.
Do your emails in batches
We spend so much of our time during the week constantly responding to emails. It’s no wonder that sometimes half the day could go by and you’ve barely touched your to-do list. This suggestion may not work depending on your industry or position, but tweak it to suit yourself. When you open your email in the morning, be strict on yourself. Prioritise the ones that are urgent and must-replies, and address them. Anything else that isn’t important and won’t impact your schedule, leave them for later in the day when you become fatigued from other parts of your work. Just flag them for later so you have a list of what to go back to, and return to them when the time is right. You could also set out specific time periods during the day for emails. For example, first thing at 9am, once again at 11, and then once more after your lunch break. You can develop this habit over time, as it’s a particularly hard one to do if you’re used to reading every single email the second it pops into your inbox. Try closing your email until the time periods you’ve set out and respond to them then. However, make sure to tell your co-workers or employer that you’re trying out this in order to be more productive. Let them know should anything urgent come up, you’re just a phone call away.
Share your habits
One of the reasons new habits so often fail is because they affect those around us. Batching your emails is a good way to improve productivity, but it might annoy your boss if you don’t respond to urgent requests. Don’t leave your co-workers in the dark and explain to them why you’re doing it. And if the habits do work out, share the success with others. Tell them how much more things you were able to get done during the day from your new habits. They might benefit from trying out similar methods of productivity too. Who knows – it could benefit your whole team and become a standard practice in your workplace, leading to better productivity across the board and a better workplace culture.