The New Year comes with resolutions of all kinds that both will be accomplished while others will try again next year. Resolutions do not just have to be for your personal life as they can be applied to your professional life as well. The best thing that most people can do for their career is to increase their productivity. Plenty of managers can overlook a new confidence but it is hard to ignore a person doubling their work output. In sales this can lead to massive amounts of commission while in other roles it can put an individual on the fast track for a promotion. The following are tactics and tweaks in routine that can end up boosting your productivity as well as your career trajectory.
Use Time Tracking Software To Optimize Order of Work
Using time tracking software can allow you to see where you are spending most of your time. You might find that a certain task takes you far longer at the end of the day versus the beginning. This could be due to distractions or meetings being called but a simple explanation is that you might be burned out later in the day for certain tasks. Also a huge help in productivity could come from limiting the amount of times per day that you check email. A frantic email from a client can sidetrack you for hours and if it is a real emergency the client will call the company directly.
Ask Your Direct Manager How You Can Improve
The best thing that you can do is ask your direct manager how you can improve. This not only will illuminate some weaknesses that you might possess but it will be looked at as being proactive about improving. People tend to be worried about asking where they are not living up to expectations. The truth is that many quarterly or yearly reviews tend to be rushed through with the manager’s personal feelings coming into play far more than they should be. Ask for a meeting or email where your manager is brutally honest as you might be able to fix your inadequacies almost immediately once you find out what they are.
Set Your Day Up With A Good Night’s Rest
Too many people stay up late watching their favorite streaming service at the expense of sleeping for the appropriate amount of time. This can lead to being groggy in the morning with the only thing helping is multiple cups of coffee consumed. Lack of good sleep could be due to having the wrong mattress for your sleep style and specific needs. The best mattresses are high quality but things like firmness need to be picked by the individual. Coming into work ready to work at a high level immediately will help you surpass your tired peers over the course of time. An extra hour of work done per day might not seem like a lot but it will add up over the course of time.
Use Your Increase In Productivity When Applying For A Position/Asking For Pay Raise
One thing that people seem afraid to do is going into a meeting prepared with all kinds of data of how they have improved. This can pretty much force the hand of a manager that might decide whether you get a raise. The fact that you might be twice as productive than another person getting paid the same should be mentioned. This is not the time to demand a raise or you will quit but make sure that you are looking for companies that will value your work appropriately. If you are passed over for a promotion multiple times it might be time to face the fact that you might never climb the corporate ladder at your current company. Switching companies gives a person a new life and chance to make a great first impression on management.
Make 2019 your year when it comes to your profession as this year could set up the rest of your career for years to come!
