When the new financial year is around the corner, people often make various plans for being more productive and raising their success bar. Everyone aspires to be more productive, and to make that happen; people start making plans. The problem with most of these plans is that they depend on someone else’s idea of work and management of your time.
Not every productive plan designed matches your body clock. Most organizations prepare their work plans and ask you to get acquainted with them and schedule your plan working pattern in accordance with their time. This is the major problem people face, as they start working in someone else’s timeline and forget how they need to do things.
Every person should be aware of their bodies and when they function the most, as that will determine whether you are suitable to work according to others’ idea of time or whether you use your most productive hours working.
There are ways to find that out, for which you will first have to go through the process of self-awareness. We have shortlisted a few ways you can incorporate on your journey to self-awareness.
Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl?
Some people wake up at 5 AM to start their day, whereas others sleep at 5 AM to end their day. This is the difference between the habits people have developed over time and reflects how their body works.
Some people are comfortable working at midnight, whereas others are most active in the mornings, this is what makes a difference when a morning person is asked to start and work until late, their body starts giving them signs they it needs rest, and as a result, you feel tired and stressed as you reach the end of the day. Meanwhile, someone who is mentally active the most after 10 PM and sleeps past midnight won’t be able to wake up early to start his daily chores.
One must work when it feels the most natural, if you feel you can start late and stay up until 3 AM to finish your work, that is the option you must choose. A person has not only work commitments but other commitments like family, household chores, and breaks. Plan your day, keeping in mind all the aspects you need to work on in a day. Someone who is an early bird and forcing them to work until 12 AM is incorrect, and they should consider taking jobs that match their schedule.
Know What You Need
Having an understanding of your needs is very important. Every person has a unique way of working; let’s say you have a meeting first thing in the morning; you might get overwhelmed with the stress and compromise your sleep. Meanwhile, someone else might be the most comfortable handling those important meetings right when they start their day. In this case, you need to ensure that you always plan your meeting for times that suit you best. Always plan ahead and choose a time slot when you are the most productive.
Learn How to Ease that Sense of Being Overwhelmed
There are times when the workload can overwhelm you, or it could result from bad choices or repetitive changes requested by the client. Be it for any reason, it can overwhelm you, and as you’ll be worried about the results, you might end up delaying or avoiding doing the task altogether.
Such times need you to take a short break, figure out what exactly is going wrong, and think of a different choice you can make that makes your work more efficient. Choose an option that matches your style rather than avoiding the task. It will also enhance your productivity.
Decide if you work better alone or around a team
Not everyone can be a team player, some play solo. Some people find it hard to concentrate on their work when there is a lot of background noise, while others are only comfortable when their surroundings are not quiet. Now, you can’t change how you work, it’s something that comes from within. What you can do instead is find a place where you can work under your preferences. If you are working from home and feel isolated, find a job role that offers you a hybrid model or a shared workspace.
On the other hand, if a lot of noise distracts you, try using headphones or earplugs when you are in the middle of something important.
Set Your Priorities
It would be best if you determined what tasks in your day are important and which ones can be left to be attended to by the end of the day. If you are an entrepreneur and you don’t necessarily enjoy social media or are not comfortable using it, try hiring someone who can handle that task for you and use your time as something that increases your productivity.
You need to have a better approach to setting your priorities right. Choose a plan that makes your work enjoyable and does not allow you to keep a lot of backlog.
Use Your Strengths Wisely
Recognize your strengths by doing some self-assessment. Once you know where you work the best, take up projects that have a major use of your strengths. If you’re not good at writing, try considering someone who can manage your blog nicely. If your strength is connecting well with people, try being a go-to person or making corporate speeches that will benefit both you and your co-workers.
Know What Takes You From Bad to Worse
When you’re having a bad day, understand what makes you lose your focus more. Self-awareness plays a vital role in your work life. For example, if you are not seeing much growth in your current organization, you lose motivation to work, and eventually, you stay unfocused on your work. Additionally, if you see your co-workers achieving more than you, whereas you have been not receiving rewards besides doing equal hard work, you lose your focus. Know who you are and what nourishes your talent, support that thought to put more into your work, and make better choices in your professional life.