With the warmer weather, blooming flowers, and sunny skies, it is time for some spring cleaning. However, the tradition of spring cleaning is not just for the home, it is for the unhealthy habits, too. Everyone has behaviors and thoughts that prevent us from being our most productive selves. Here are common workplace habits to scrub away this season:
Replace “I should” with “I did”
It is easy to say “I should be doing this…”. However, it is important we turn our goals into actions. Research has shown that goals and visualizations can accumulate and become exhausting when there is no action taken on them. Setting SMART goals can help you ensure that you are performing the necessary actions to reach your goals, turning that s-word to “I did do this….”
Don’t Live Inside Your Inbox
The “Always-on” culture has cultivated an environment where many employees feel the pressure to check their work notifications outside of business hours. According to CNN Business, the average employee working remotely works an extra 2.5 hours of work per day. While one might feel like they are being more productive working on quick tasks outside of business hours, this can put one at risk for burnout and an imbalance between work and life. If you do not want your employees to work after hours, it is important to say so and reinforce the importance of downtime.
Be Forgiving of Yourself
In a study by LeadershipIQ, it was found that if you are good at forgiving yourself, you will be 65% more motivated to give your best effort at work. At the end of the day, we are striving to be the best version of ourselves. Avoid the cycle of negative thinking that paralyzes us from moving forward, and look at each mistake as a learning opportunity.
Eat Lunch with Colleagues
Do you find yourself taking your lunch at your desk and continuing on with your work? While this can be easy to do, it can have negative consequences on our mental state. Research has found that people who eat most meals alone may express feelings of loneliness and isolation, and this has a strong correlation to unhappiness in the workplace (theglobeandmail.com). To prevent these feelings, take an effort to encourage your colleagues to eat lunch together. Whether it is through an informal invitation or an organized team outing, it can have a significant positive impact.
Multitasking Decreases Productivity
Several studies have shown that multitasking does more harm than good. It has been found that when our brain is constantly switching gears to bounce back and forth between tasks, we become less efficient and more apt to make a mistake. Creating a to-do list and setting aside time to focus on each task will result in improved outcomes and productivity.
While the competitive business world has encouraged some of these habits, it is important to recognize our bad habits and understand the consequences if we continue these behaviors. By scrubbing yourself from these bad habits, you will become a shinier and better version of yourself.
About the author:
Jennah Worthington is a Brand Ambassador Intern for illuminate.health and is a senior studying Healthcare & Business at Butler University. She has a passion for the pharmaceutical industry and gaining a deeper understanding of the roles of health providers, insurers, and administrators. She strives to help find ways to increase accessibility in various areas of healthcare. Jennah resides in Indianapolis and enjoys going on walks with her Dalmatian.