8 Morning Habits That Make You More Valuable at Work
Want to
be worth your salary and more? Try these morning habits to be worthy of
advancement.
Valuable employees are hard to find. At a
bare minimum, it's challenging to find enough employees who can show up on time
and get along with other people. A 2015 survey of business leaders
from the New York Fed showed that 42 percent of employers have trouble finding
punctual workers, while about 48 percent struggle finding workers with interpersonal skills.
It
could be that the employers' standards are too high, but often, employees
aren't focused on doing the right things correctly. Regardless of surveys,
truly the only behavior that matters is
yours. It doesn't matter if you are a leader or a line worker, you owe it to
yourself and others to bring value every day. Here are some morning
habits to
ensure you are always at your best.
1. Be punctual.
Being
late causes all kinds of trouble for everyone. Five
minutes may
not seem like much to you, but to those who are busy and dependent on you,
those 300 seconds will bring irritation and resentment. By the third time you
are late to a meeting or behind on deliverables, you will be considered
unreliable. Be realistic about how much time it will take you to get to the
office each morning. Save yourself a rush by setting out whatever you need to
get ready the night before. Start your week off calm, relaxed, and feeling
successful, not guilty and frantic.
2. Take care of your body.
Someone
who is sick all the time eventually seems like a bundle of excuses and a
detriment. You need to be at your physical and mental best to perform at your
peak. Start your day right by fueling your body with healthy food. Exercise is
also essential--even a 15-minute walk in the morning before you leave for work
can jumpstart your oxygen intake, giving you more
energy.
3. Envision a successful
future.
As Lewis Carroll said, "If you don't know
where you are going, any road will get you there." To be the most productive
for you and the company, you should have a clear understanding of the big
picture. Meditate, read, check your vision board--do whatever it takes to get
yourself into a positive and focused mindset. You'll be able to create
efficiencies by eliminating tasks that don't fit into the overall
plan and
identify solutions that work on a systemic level.
4. Make a game plan for the
day.
A day
can quickly disappear if there is no order, structure, or priority. You can be
easily sidelined into the weeds, making you and your colleagues feel like
nothing was done. Set out specific tasks and measurements for what you want
to accomplish. Set realistic projected timeframes, so
things don't wander. You'll find that you can get more done when keeping time.
5. Greet everyone.
Few
careers will go well if you work like a hermit. Those who can form strong
teams will
easily get to the top of the ladder. You may not be a people person, but you
can start with something simple. Warmly saying hello to your co-workers and
calling them by name demonstrates your care and humanity. People will work
harder for people they like. Show them they are worth your attention, and they
will make you worth theirs.
6. Avoid the daily gossip.
So
often, the first daily activity is slinging the sludge. Office gossip is
distracting and often harmful. The only thing worse than being the target
of gossip is being thought of as an inconsiderate bully for spreading it.
Foster a positive office environment by squashing rumormongering first thing.
Set the example for how to build co-worker alliances, rather than tearing them
down.
7. Do your most important tasks
first.
It can
be tempting to push off the hard stuff and get a bunch of little meaningless
tasks done so you feel productive. Still, tackling the big stuff first will
free your mind for bigger and better things. As Mark Twain said, "Eat a live frog first thing in the
morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the
day." You
have more energy in the morning. Take advantage of it, and then you can coast
through the small stuff in the afternoon while looking super productive.
8. Make meetings efficient.
No
doubt you have plenty of meetings scheduled. You don't have to be the leader of
them to bring improvement. Assess the subject matter for each of your
meetings that day. Make sure you have thought through your objectives and
prepare solutions for pending problems before you step in. Send a summary memo
with your expectations to meeting leaders beforehand and you'll be pleasantly
surprised how short and efficient meetings become.
BY KEVIN DAUM
http://www.inc.com/kevin-daum/8-morning-habits-that-make-an-employee-more-valuable.html?cid=em01016week45a
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