Can you avoid laziness at work and be a little more productive? Here are some steps I take to get to counter laziness at work.
Of course, these steps may not be suitable for everyone. And neither can all of it work for everyone. Mix and match them. Find what works best for you. After all, life is about discovery, otherwise it would be immensely boring. Do not be stressed out or give up too easily. We're animals of habit and it takes time to form. Just as you adopt bad habits, so you can adopt good habits as well.
1. Watch The Time Robbers
Let’s face it, we're easily distracted. If some colleagues are chatting away, we get curious and join in the conversation. Twenty minutes wasted there. We pop in to check our personal e-mails, another few minutes, then the messenger system, and then updating of
social networking sites, etc, etc. It just gets worse. Ever peeped at yourself and what you do at work and say, no wonder I don’t get as much done? Avoid laziness and watch for these time robbers.
2. Take An Initiative
Ever have lots of ideas in your mind but have never executed them? Never dropped so and so a note on the idea, never mentioned it to a colleague that's a good sounding board? Make it today. I find this especially useful when I start my day early. It allows me to get into the office and write that little two-pager or that e-mail. I like it on a word document as I can file it as a reminder. If it doesn’t work this time, it may work another time.
Besides, an e-mail makes an initiative look too flimsy. A word document gives it some sense of formality. Initiatives are things you're interested in so you can avoid laziness doing this.
3. You Don’t Need To Do It All
Be realistic how much you can complete in a day. What is the most valuable thing you can complete today? Do at least one. Do not stress yourself out by trying to do it all in a day. Some times doing less is doing more. It allows you to focus on the work that matters and because you focus you churn better work out. So, you don’t need to do it all in a day is one way you can avoid laziness at work. Without being overwhelmed you may actually do more.
4. Start A Tough Task
Ever procrastinated on a tough task you need to do? Yes, I bet. You keep giving yourself excuses why you cannot start yet. There is no better time than now. There is no need for a better time.
Just get started even if it's a small step. That small step will gain traction if you keep at it. If you keep postponing that task, before you know it you will be behind time.
5. Finish Something
No excuse whatsoever. Sit down type away. Do not re-read it. You do that tomorrow. The reason for this is so you leave the office with one good task done no matter how simple.
You would have ‘forced’ yourself to sit and focus for today, at this hour. That's one good way that works for me when I want to avoid laziness.
6. Start Early
You will be surprised how that extra hour does for you when you wake up early. It allows you to have time for yourself, read the papers, have breakfast slowly – which gives you energy and many more. You need to experience this. Try it. It’s one of my best way on how to make today the best day at work. Personally, there is a correlation between starting early and my best days at work.
There you have it, some simple steps to help you avoid laziness. Remember you need not do it all, it may not work for you. Experiment with it a little. Mix and match. See what works and hone it better. The better you
focus, the better you can be at work.
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