When it comes to work habits, take action now to find ways to work smarter instead of harder.
We all have to work. Some of us work in offices, factories, hospitals or other businesses. Some of us work at home in our own businesses or with our families. No matter what we do or don’t do to earn a living, we work. All day long we are bombarded with messages to work harder. Often, we try. We work harder, spend longer hours, take on overtime assignments. But, at the end of the day, we have only moved forward incrementally. The big changes, life altering movement we thought we were working toward does not come. Then, we stop, go home, and do it again day after day after day.
What if instead of working harder, we began to work smarter? What if we started each day with a plan of what we wanted to accomplish and had a plan for how to cross things off the to do list? What if we figured out the best way to do things? It reminds me of what I tell my children and employees, don’t worry about working harder, instead, work smarter. This is not to say much is not accomplished with hard work. Life is not for the lazy. What I am trying to say is that we need to work smarter.
We need to think, to plan, and to figure. Instead of rushing head first into action, many times life it is better to stop, think and make a plan and then work the plan. In order to improve your work habits, try the following things:
- create a plan and then follow the plan
- be consistent
- open your mind to new possibilities
Create a plan and then follow the plan
Everyone has heard the saying, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” With this idea in mind, start with a plan for how you are going to improve your work habits. Do you need to improve your education? Would changing your work hours be better for you? Are there duties that you need to delegate? Explore questions like these and create a plan for making things work better for you. Take the time to create a plan for your business and then work that plan. A plan alone, no matter how good the plan is worthless if you don’t follow it.
Be consistent
Consistency is an important part of improving your work habits. If you work consistently towards a goal each day you are far more likely to accomplish it than if you work on an irregular, inconsistent manner. Muscles and business empires are built with consistent steady work. In addition, when you are consistent in your work habits you are dependable and trustworthy. These are qualities that make you more valuable as an entrepreneur.
Open your mind to new possibilities
Once upon a time, the telegram was the ideal mode of long distance communication. Today telegrams are a thing of the past that many people have never heard of outside of old movies. Today instant messages, texts and video conferencing allow us to share information and conduct business instantly. No matter how wonderful your current business practices are, keep your mind open to the possibility that better methods may be on the horizon. It is important to regularly spend time on research and development so that you can always have the best business ideas, practices, supplies and methods.
So the question for you this magnificent day is what are you going to do to improve your work habits?
