If you are like most people, you will wait until the end of the year to get a report from your management or boss on how you performed.
It’s just easier when we have someone else following up to see what we have achieved rather than doing it ourselves.
Remember then that if you are willing, every day is a day for improvement. The same applies to work performance too.
If you are committed to improving your skills, you boost your confidence and delivery in your field.
Well, despite the many automation programmes you may have, without the right attitude and mindset, accomplishing goals can be a bit hard.
In this article, we will discuss tips that will help you improve your work performance.
Tips to Boost Your Work Performance
1. Break Your Goals into Small Milestones
Dreaming big is very great; we are constantly told that if your goals don’t scare you, they are not good enough.
When this may be the case, sometimes the thought of the long unaccomplished goals can be stressful.
This is why when you have a big task; you keep postponing it unwillingly. It’s not until when you have begun doing it that you have the energy to complete it.
Set some goals and evaluate yourself, every once in a while to track your performance and know where you need to improve.
If you have accomplished something, don’t shy away from celebrating it.
It’s the small wins that keep you going.
2. Know the Urgent Tasks
Our working hours are limited, and as much as you may want that raise or the “employee of the year” title, you can only do a few things every day.
Have monthly goals, weekly goals, and daily goals.
Ensure your daily goals are realistic. It feels good when we do more than we had planned compared to when we don’t complete what is on our list.
We are advised to ask ourselves, the one thing we would do if we had only a limited time in a day. That is the task you should give priority.
Also, learn to see that you are not always caught up in the urgent things and you miss out on the essential stuff.
3. Avoid Distractions
The one reason that you are always lagging on schedule is because of the multiple distractions surrounding you.
Just when you are about to write an email, you see a Facebook notification, and before you realize it, it is 5 pm and you have hardly done anything.
In today’s world, it is very hard to avoid online notifications because we always work surrounded by technology.
However, you can disable social media platforms when working.
If staying disciplined is hard, you are advised to take your phone to a different room when you are working.
Also, schedule time for distractions on your to-do-list. This ensures your mind does not drift every now and then.
4. Manage Interruptions
You have finally set up your schedule for the day, and just when you are halfway, your task, a colleague comes to your office to hang out or ask something.
It may also be your boss with a request to run an errand for him before you carry on with work.
If you work from home, family members keep knocking at your door.
Interruptions interfere with the time that we had allocated a task.
We end up losing focus and fail to accomplish what we had on one list.
Learn to politely turn down requests when you are busy with something you are determined to complete.
5. Don’t Multitask!
Most times, we feel like doing two more things at a time is harmless. In most cases, it is on the rush to complete more than two items on our to-do-list.
You may not realize but doing more than one thing at a time makes you anxious — you are prone to making mistakes and reduce the quality of your work.
Focus on completing one task at a time and move on to the next task when you are done with the other task. You will observe an increase in productivity and reduced stress in your work life.
6. Complete Everything You Set Your Mind on Doing
How many times do you set resolutions and end up abandoning them, and when you are setting the next resolutions, they are still on your list?
I know you are guilty of a failed gym class, healthy eating, or snoozing alarm. It is hard to grow if you are continually running on a treadmill with no progress.
Stop leaving things unfinished so that the next time you are setting goals, you are working to accomplish something new.
7. Read Something New Everyday
Even though you may not describe yourself as an avid reader, make an effort of reading one article every day.
The world is constantly changing, and if you want to stay updated on the new tools and technologies, you must make an effort to read.
It is also through reading that you improve your work performance as you read on how to boost your skills.
8. Communicate Effectively
If you are not asking for suggestions and giving feedback, you are not communicating enough.
Before making any decision, think of how it affects your goals.
Ask colleagues what they think, and let everyone know that his/her decision counts.
We all think differently, and it is by combining our ideas that we perform better than the previous day.
Don’t be comfortable with being an underperformer; it doesn’t look good on anyone.
9. What are Your Weak Spots?
The best way to improve your work performance is by accessing yourself and knowing those things that are holding you back from delivering awesome results.
In fact, improving yourself on something you are good at, is harder than correcting something. It is therefore wise to approach a problem from this angle.
Be humble and learn, listen, and read every day.
10. Take a Break
No matter how much passionate you are about your job, you get tired at some point. This is why taking a break, and traveling can help you regain energy.
Staying for extended periods at work reduces your performance because of the monotony and burnout levels.
There is no shame in taking a break. If you are exhausted take some time off and come back stronger.
Also, during regular working days, ensure you live a balanced lifestyle.
Take Away
Whether you are being observed or not, underperforming only kills your morale and your confidence.
Always strive to deliver the best you can every day. Read and ask questions on areas you don’t understand.
It is by working smart than we did yesterday that makes us better individuals in both our personal and professional lives.
You can also check our popular tools that help in work management and workflows to boost your performance even more.