Use a calendar, agenda, planner, or some other system to keep track of meetings and other important dates. Refer to it often. Use containers, folders, dividers, and other organizational supplies to keep your files, supplies, and other materials organized.
Give yourself enough time to get to work on time each day. Plan for traffic, accidents, getting gas, and other things that could make you late. Use timers, alerts, and alarms to remind yourself of time limits, deadlines, and important upcoming events. When you are completing reports and other deliverables, think about the time it will take to finish them. Allow for interruptions and small problems.
If the task has a real deadline, set one for yourself that is a day or so before the real deadline. This will give you time in case there are any last minute changes or corrections needed. Set reminders and check-ins for the deadlines so that you can stay on track with meeting them.
Schedule specific times to check your email and other messages. Respond to urgent messages during that time and prioritize the others for response later. For example, you might check your messages first thing in the morning, after lunch, and at the end of the day. You could respond to important emails when you do your first check and less urgent messages at lunch.
Form friendships with people outside of your immediate area. Having friends in various departments can come in handy. Be cooperative and dependable when you have to work as part of a team or group.
During meetings and briefings make an effort to focus on the topic at hand. Take notes and ask questions to make sure you understand everything. When it’s possible, remove any distractions so that you can focus on listening. Cut electronic devices off and give the speaker your full attention.
Every few minutes, check to see if you are slouching. If you are, then sit up straight. Elongate your spin, relax your shoulders, and hold your head up straight.
You can rate whether you are ‘exceeding expectations’, ‘meeting expectations’, or ‘need improvement’ in each area. Make a list of strengths and weaknesses in each area. For example, you might put that you’re good at writing reports, but don’t submit them on time.
You could ask them to write a few words on a sticky note that describe your work performance and put it in an envelope for that purpose on your desk. For example, you could say, “Would you write a few words about my work on here and put it in the envelope hanging outside my cubicle?” You could also create a brief, anonymous online survey for them to complete. If you are comfortable with it, you could ask for feedback face to face. You might say, “Would you give me some feedback on my work performance?”
Most companies have specific times of the year when they evaluate employees. Check with your supervisor to see when your next evaluation is due. You could say, “How long after I have been employed will it be before I am evaluated?” Or, “When do we have our evaluations?” You can always ask your supervisor for informal feedback regarding your work performance or a specific task or assignment. For example, you might ask your boss, “Would you mind meeting with me about how I did on this last report?”
Ask your supervisor for specific examples of how you can improve your job performance. For example, you might say, “In my review it said I need to improve my leadership skills. Could you give me examples of how I can do this?” Focus on the lowest areas on your review. Although you want to improve overall, these are the areas critical to you maintaining employment. For instance, if you had negative remarks regarding your attendance, you should work on improving that before you work on your leadership skills.
Make a list of strengths that you, your co-workers, or your supervisor mentioned in your evaluations. Highlight those strengths that were mentioned by more than one person or more than once in general. For example, you might write ‘reliable’ and ‘dependable’ and also write and highlight ‘diligent’ because you and your supervisor mentioned it.
Look for keywords in your evaluations like: improve, increase, strengthen, expand, or develop. Look for reoccurring themes in your evaluations like being on time, checking your facts, or being a team player.
Set goals related to increasing your productivity. For example, you might set a goal to submit five additional applications a day. Break each goal down into doable action steps. For instance, in order to submit five more applications daily you might need to file and review them faster.
Take a brief walk during your lunch break or park further away from the entrance so that you have to walk a little further from the car each morning. Join a gym close to your job or use your company’s fitness center, if you have one. Do ten to twenty minutes of yoga or tai chi in the morning before work or go for a brisk jog or swim.
Start preparing for bed an hour or so in advance. Do things that calm and relax your body and mind like meditating, reading, or yoga. Avoid caffeine in the hour before you plan to go to sleep. Instead of coffee or caffeinated tea, go for decaf or a glass of water. Put your phone on silent or turn off non-essential notifications until the morning.
Instead of multitasking, do one thing at a time. Focus all your attention on that one thing. For example, instead of checking your email while you complete your inventory sheet, focus only on the inventory. If you find your mind wandering or that you are daydreaming, gently bring your thoughts back to the task at hand. You might say to yourself, “I started thinking about the game. Let me focus on the inventory. ”
