How do you manage your work? What do you focus on? Are you overly concerned? Too stressed out? Or do you just need a little more mindfulness?
I’m here to tell you that an invigorating dose of confidence could only be the trick. To that end, I’ve put together 10 powerful ideas to help you tame your stress, survive insecurity, increase your creativity, and do more of the right things with a smile on your face.
- Take time to explore in a playful way.
In 2006, Xavier High School students were asked to write to their favorite living authors – several students chose Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut’s answer, the only one that has received the class, contains essential insights into the importance of playful exploration for great work:
“What I also had to say to you would not take long: Practice art, music, singing, dance, acting, drawing, painting, sculpture, poetry, fiction, essays, reporting, no matter how good or bad, not for money and To get fame, but to experience, to find out what is in you, to grow your soul.
Seriously! I mean start now, make art and do it for the rest of your life. Draw a funny or beautiful picture of Mrs. Lockwood and give it to her. Dance home after school and sing in the shower and so on and so on. Make a face in your mashed potatoes. Imagine that you are Count Dracula. “
Although Vonnegut’s response was to motivate young students to learn and explore new ideas and skills, it is easy for all of us to limit ourselves to a specific area, such as writing, coding, or designing. We feel good and never stretch our creative and intellectual muscles. We will never be everything we can be.
So think of the idea of playful exploration and take your time to implement it. Try new things to stretch, let your soul grow, and keep things fresh in your life. The insights you encounter in these activities can then be transferred to your main work, which will ultimately make the difference in the world.
- Track and appreciate every little step in your progress.
It’s in our DNA that our hard work matters … to know that our efforts have made a difference.
Believe it or not, caretakers in hospitals are pretty satisfied with their work. When they enter a dirty room, they know what to do, what it should look like when they leave, and the positive effects of their work on others who use the room. Then when they leave, they look around and feel a strong sense of achievement.
Your progress may not be easy to see, but the more you appreciate your hard work, the more productive you will be.
Take a look at what you have accomplished at the end of each day and note that it is very important to recognize even the smallest of winnings. Take notes and write down at least one thing you have made progress on every day and why this is important. Do this consistently for 30 days and see how it affects your happiness and productive performance.
Also consider adding mini celebrations to your routines. Too often you will likely complete a task and then move on to the next step. I find myself doing it all the time. I may have just written a very complicated email that requires a lot of thought and planning, but as soon as I send it, I’ll move on to the next step.
The next time you find yourself doing this, take a moment and celebrate your hard work. I try to make my celebrations entertaining, stimulating and healthy. Here are five easy ways you can party after working hard on a project.
Listen to your favorite song.
Take a short walk and enjoy the fresh air.
Call a good friend or colleague and tell them about a particular achievement.
Eat a small piece of dark chocolate.
Write a few lines in your gratitude journal.
Simple celebrations like this make you feel positive and increase your motivation for the next task ahead.
- Find meaning in your tasks and projects.
Any task you set yourself can either increase or decrease your luck. It can be something that helps you build a better career or something that annoys you. Every task has a purpose – even the smallest. If you feel that they really have no purpose for you, it is time to find a way to end it or to get someone to do it for you. (We’ll talk more about this in # 7 and # 9.)
Not all tasks were created equal. Therefore, look for ways in which you can achieve your larger goals with your tasks and projects. If you are asked to fill thousands of marketing bags with corporate flyers, as I did at a certain point in my career, then you understand the “why” behind it.
Why are you taking on this task? It could be as simple as your boss asked you to, and you want to keep earning your paycheck to feed your family, or something more subjective like you do because you hope, believe, or know that future customers will be happy will do. If you can imagine how your hard work will react to others, it is easier to stay motivated.
Conclusion: If you find meaning in your tasks, do a better job and usually enjoy each task much more.
- Look for ways to deliver a smile.
Connection is a big part of why you do what you do. If you work hard on something and get a smile for it, this is visual evidence that your work is important.
So the next time you’re low on energy while working on a task, check to see if you can try switching to a task that makes a colleague, customer, or boss smile. You get a natural boost and the next task will be easier to do.
- Use your motivating triggers.
Everyone has motivating triggers that can help them if they need to increase their energy even further.
One of my triggers is music. I like to listen to classical music when I write. Mozart is a bit in my fingers. This motivational trigger helps me get into the zone and stay focused so that I can do a lot of my work.
Music may not be your motivating trigger, but you need to find out what works for you. You can try something really simple, like taking a few deep breaths before starting a task to focus on your focus before getting into the work. It can help you work better or make smarter decisions. The best part is that if you keep doing this, it will become a habit. It triggers your “zone status” so that you can get to your zone much faster and do more work efficiently (more on this in Section 10).
- Schedule loading breaks.
You don’t have an endless supply of energy. Imagine a battery that needs to be charged all day. Most people reach their maximum energy output about two hours after waking up and it lasts about three hours. Then their energy drops, especially after lunch.
You have probably seen an afternoon slump more than you can count. This is when most people go for a caffeine or sugar boost that is not healthy.
What is a good alternative?
Plan short recharge breaks to achieve a more even energy level and to avoid unhealthy snacking.
Plan your breaks when you know the energy drops are normal. You can plan a walk and a healthy fruit snack and take the time to breathe for 10 minutes and regroup before going back to work.
- Ask for help as soon as you need it.
If you are a Type A personality, this affects you in particular. You can be good at many things, but you can’t always do everything. Other people have skills that can help you do more work and make your efforts more effective.
It is important to rely on other people when you feel tired or overwhelmed. Ask for help when you need it. The funny thing about asking for help is that most people really love helping others when they have the opportunity. You get a boost by helping you smile, and you get a boost by not having to do everything on your own.
- Turn the script over.
One of my customers, Amy, hated performing performance reviews. She always hesitated until the last minute when she had completed the performance reviews for her employees, and the experience was bad for her and her team alike. She hated doing it because she didn’t feel that her team needed or wanted her.
So she turned the concept upside down and asked her employees to review and develop a career plan with her guidelines for the next 12 months. It worked. They all worked together and invented a better process that their employees loved.
If there is a difficult task or problematic project in your life, try to find a new way to address this problem. It may take a few tries to find a better solution. However, if you find a way to enjoy a task you don’t like, you’ll be happier and the people around you too.
- Learn to work around tasks that you are not enthusiastic about.
Learning to say “no” is one of the main components to get more work done that you love and generally to create a happier life.
If there is a project that doesn’t match your skills, you need to find a way to say “no”. The key here is to set foot without making the other person feel rejected. For example, if your boss submits a project for you that doesn’t excite you or doesn’t match your strengths, it’s your responsibility to find a better solution to your problem. So instead of just saying “no”, give her another option that solves her problem so she can say “yes” to you.
Everything is negotiable. Be a creative problem solver and everyone wins.
Another powerful idea I’ll quote from Marc’s recent Forbes interview:
“Invest a little time to save a lot of time.
How can you spend a little time now to save a lot of time in the future? Think about the tasks that you do over and over again during a working week. Is there a more efficient way? Is there a link you can learn? Is there a way to automate or delegate this? Perhaps you can complete a specific task in 20 minutes, and it would take two hours to implement a more efficient method. If this 20-minute task needs to be done every day and a two-hour fix shortens it to 5 minutes or less each time, it’s worth implementing it. An easy way to do this is to use technology to automate tasks (email filters, automatic bill payments, etc.). Another option is to teach someone to help you and delegate the work.
Conclusion: The more you automate and delegate, the more you can do with the same effort. “
- Block the time to be in the zone.
Getting to the zone quickly is one of the most important habits for highly effective workers. If you can do your important work early and efficiently, you have time to relax or try new, creative ideas.
Entering your zone can begin using tip 5, motivational triggers. If you can use triggers to get into the zone faster, you’ll do more every day. The next, and perhaps more difficult step, is to do the right things when you are in the zone. And that means no distractions get in the way. Up to this point, I’ll quote Marc again from his most recent Forbes interview:
“If you want to achieve your goals, you have to do two important things. First, focus on the right things, and second, eliminate all distractions.
Several research studies have shown that people can never achieve anything if they blindly work more hours on whatever comes up. Instead, they do more if they follow careful plans that measure and track key priorities and milestones. So if you want to be more successful and less stressed, don’t ask how you can make something more efficient until you first ask, “Do I have to do that at all?” Just being able to do something well doesn’t do it right. I think this is one of the most common problems with a lot of time management advice. Too often, productivity gurus focus on how to get things done quickly, but the vast majority of things people do quickly shouldn’t be done at all.
Once you know that you are actually working on the right things, eliminating all distractions for a set time while you work is one of the most effective ways to get things done. So lock your door, log in, turn off your phone, close your email application, disconnect your internet connection, etc. You can’t hide forever, but you can be twice as productive while They are. Do everything you can to create a calm, distraction-free environment where you can concentrate on your work. “(Marc and Angel discuss this in more detail in the” Productivity “chapter of 1,000 little things that make happy, successful people different.)
Close thoughts
Please do not try to process all 10 ideas at the same time. Check in with your belly and see which one has spoken to you the most. Maybe it’s the one that scares or excites you the most. This is probably the one that is most useful to you at the moment.
The next step is to make this one idea feasible. Write down the first three steps you will take to achieve this. Then choose the first step, write down when and how you will do it, and plan it.
To make it really concrete: what is your first step? When will you take this first step? How are you going to do it
For example, if you want to get to the zone faster in the morning, your first step might be to make a list of three distractions that you want to eliminate. Then choose the most distracting one and imagine how you can solve that distraction.
So if you are interrupted by people all day and you are pulled out of the zone, you need to find a block of time to get into the zone. Perhaps the first step is to signal your employees that you need time to concentrate. You can put on headphones every day from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Or maybe you can add a small message and a short sentence in your voicemail to the footer of your emails, about working on an important project until 11 a.m. every day. This is your time to get into the zone. Have it.
It’s your turn…
I am curious … Which of the above ideas is the most popular with you? What other ideas would you add to the list? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts. I promise to read it.
