Ok boys and girls, gather ’round. Today I’m going to talk about how to be more effective at work. So put your thinking caps on and sit down in the learning circle. And Jimmy…quit eating the paste. I saw that…
Physical Preparation
This one’s first, because if you’re not prepared for work physically, it’s gonna be rough to prepare mentally. My advice is to exercise. Whether it’s strenuous or not, exercise clears the mind and reduces stress. Even if you’re Sweatin’ to the Oldies with Richard Simmons for just a few minutes each day, you’ll notice your attitude towards work and overall well being improve dramatically. Of course your attitude toward Mr. Simmons will most likely stay the same. Yuck.
After gettin’ down with your bad self (and Richard Simmons), don’t forget to eat a good breakfast. You might think coffee and doughnuts is all you have time for, but you really need to make time for eating healthy in the morning. Food is fuel. Eating doughnuts or Burger King before work is like putting diesel fuel in your Hyundai. It might run for a little while, but pretty soon it’s going to poop out. It really isn’t that hard to get up for work 10 minutes earlier, and in return you’ll have all the energy you need to tackle the day. You’ll have more energy when you get home too, which will make your kids happy. You might actually even want to go out and play tag with them in the yard (hmmm…more exercise…could be good advice…). Can you see a positive cycle in here somewhere?
Mental Preparation
Having a good attitude is half the battle when it comes to being more effective at work. You know how Dr. Phil is always saying “it’s all in your head”? Well for once he’s right! You decide what kind of day you will have before getting to work. What you’re thinking (positive or negative) when you leave for your job are the thoughts that will consume you throughout the entire work day. While it’s true that crappy events are inevitable, it’s how you’ve prepared yourself to handle them that counts.
*Quick Advice* –Try to keep home and work life separate. Leave work’s problems at work, and leave your personal issues at home. Thinking about how you’re going to pay your bills while using a cutting torch at work can be a bad thing. The ability to separate the two is what will really set you apart from the rest. God says “Worry not about the things of tomorrow, as tomorrow has it’s own worries”. So chill out!
Prioritize and Organize
When you get to work, take a couple minutes to jot down the tasks of the day on paper, from most to least important. It’s so much easier to stay on a job task when you actually have something written down to refer to in times of chaos. Visualize yourself working through all the day’s tasks, then lay out the materials (pens, tools, etc.) that you’re going to need. Also, take a free minute before work to organize that rats’ nest of a work area. We all know how frustrating work can be when we can’t find the stuff we need to get the job done. Having everything in order will also help when the manager comes by “just to see how you’re doing” too.
Create a System
If the highway department just went out and built roads wherever they felt like it, we would never make it to the grocery store alive. Instead, we have a system of crappy (at least in Arkansas) roads that gets us there every time. The same thing applies at work. To be truly effective, you have to have a system in place that will produce the same results every time you use it. Your system needs to be flexible too, as different situations arise every day at work and you’ll need to adapt. It’s all trial and error, so don’t expect to have your own system in place over night, but when it finally comes together you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
What has really worked for me in the past was watching the best and brightest, and how they worked. Advice: Try to implement little bits and pieces of their system into your own. Don’t copy everything they do, but just adopt some of the things you think would be a helpful addition to the way you work. Pretty soon your new work system will be a collaboration of the best features of a lot of different employees, combined with your own ideas and thoughts. Can you say cha - ching?!?
Take a Break
The workers in Japan get to take naps. We aren’t so lucky. I miss kindergarten….
Even if it’s only for a couple minutes, everybody needs a break from their job worries. Go to the restroom. Stare blankly at that picture of your mother-in-law on your desk. Anything to stop the wheels of thought from turning. Taking a quick break will help relieve stress and renew your thought process. Those workers in Japan take 20 minute naps in little sleeping capsules in mid-afternoon, and studies show that they’re happier and more productive.
Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
I’m not going to tell you to set goals. Everybody says that. Let’s use bread crumbs this time. This should be interesting huh?
Remember the story of Hansel and Gretel, and how they dropped bread crumbs to find their way home? Well I’m gonna reverse it. We want to get to the gingerbread house. First, know what kind of gingerbread house you want (the prize). Next, map out the best route through the forest (the plan). And third, place your bread crumbs (steps of achievement) along that route. The thing to remember is not to place those bread crumbs too far apart, or you’ll never make it to the next one. And don’t put them up in trees where you can’t reach them. Trying to get the bread crumb that’s 30 ft. up in a pine tree can be discouraging, especially with some old witch on your heels. Put those bread crumbs close together on the ground, so you can see the one ahead of you. It’s so much easier to take many smaller steps than one giant leap. Most of those that try to take that leap, skipping bread crumbs, never make it. Plus you’ll be a lot less likely to veer off into the woods and get eaten by the Big Bad Wolf. I don’t think he was in that story, but you know what I mean…
Get to Work or Hit the Road
Great advice here folks. Work, just like anything else, will give you exactly what you put into it. If you do things half-assed at your job and expect wonderful things to happen for you, you will be disappointed. Big time. If you don’t like the work you’re doing, quit. Find another job. I know it’s easier said than done, but you have to at least explore the option. You will never live up to your potential at work if you are working a job that you hate. Check the classifieds on the weekends. Your employer doesn’t want people who aren’t willing to give it everything they’ve got. And you don’t want to be there. The right job for you is out there, but you’ll never find it if you don’t look.
The best possible advice I can give for being effective at work is to find something that you love to do, and try to make money doing it. So few of us have this simple luxury, so if you’ve found something you love, hang on to it for dear life!
