Good work habits will keep you sane as deadlines, angry customers, insistent employees or managers’ demands crop up.
Here are some tips that will help you to do this.
Good Work Habits
• Acquire efficient work routines. Drop any routine that you find inefficient and set aside a little time each day to become more organized. Becoming more organized will give you a more positive attitude and will make you feel less overwhelmed.
Try to follow routines that make you comfortable. In times of stress, it is important that you feel comfortable.
• Gain control over your time. Maintain a daily planner to make sure you are on the top of all the details of both of your jobs.
Time spent planning — setting priorities, determining the time needed for projects and firming up deadlines — will reduce time spent in execution.
With deadlines in place, you avoid procrastination and get your most important tasks done when you promised.
• Write lists to reduce stress. Jot down tasks, ideas, notes and commitments in that planner.
As you skim through the lists of your activities, analyze what might be unnecessary and start to drop those items.
Create a brief outline, follow that plan and try to finish one task before starting another. Multi-tasking creates stress, so stay focused on a particular task until it’s done.
• Control your attitude. Take charge of situations and acquire an I-can-do-it mantra.
Stay calm. Avoid overreacting or acting impulsively.
Michael Crom is executive vice president of Dale Carnegie Training.
Source: USA Today