There are many little things that one can do to boost their performance and their prospects at work. Yet, as easy as these things are, most people do not try them. They feel too overworked or unfocused to pay attention.
If you choose to be different – if you are able to set aside a little time each day to small career boosts that can add up over time – what would you choose to devote those minutes to? Here are 10 ideas to try.
1. Reflect
One Harvard Business School study called Learning by Thinking: How Reflection Aids Performance has found that those who devote 15 minutes at the end of each workday to quietly taking stock and putting their thoughts down in writing show a 22% improvement in performance over those who do no such thing. Reflection helps the mind learn its lessons better.
2. Take a break
When you hit your stride at work on any given day, usually, you do not want to take a break and risk not getting your speed back. Taking the 15-minute break at least once a day, though, can freshen you up, boost the accuracy of your decisions and put you back in touch with your goals.
3. Start a 15-minute reading ritual
At least once a day, you should sit down to find industry-related news to read that you personally find interesting. Having good industry-related information to talk about can boost your brand among your colleagues.
4. Write a blog
Writing a regular trade blog with news observations, reports and opinions can earn you street cred and work in your favor when you need to network or find a new job.
Putting your thoughts down each day, you will force yourself to think hard about the news you read and what your feelings really are. The entire exercise can help you grow.
5. Start a short workout ritual
Plenty of research shows that regular exercise – even if it is for no longer than 15 minutes a day – can give you a performance and mood boost for hours afterwards. It is usually a good idea to start your routine the first thing in the morning when you have some time.
6. Write down a priority list each day
It is a strange thing about the mind – many people find themselves at the beginning of each workday wanting to start off with the tasks that matter the least. If you do this, you can fight the tendency easily by resolving to start each day by writing a fresh to-do list.
Once you do this, you will be so invested in the list that you’ve created that you will no longer worry about wasting time on unimportant tasks.
7. Do favors for others
Small acts of generosity are good for more than just karma – they are good for your career, too. Whether it is making an introduction that someone has been asking for or giving someone a hand, small acts of kindness can help your popularity.
8. Meditate
If you believe in the power of meditation to heal and help the mind focus, you should give over a 15-minute window to the activity each day. While it does not work for everyone, you can benefit greatly if you are someone who does respond to it.
9. Devote time to LinkedIn
A robust presence on LinkedIn is one of the best ways that you can help your career. The more regular you are on LinkedIn, the greater your chances are of making useful contacts.
10. Train to be a guest speaker
As meaningful as it is to hear speakers at industry events, you’re wasting your time if you have not ever considered preparing to speak about something yourself.
It can give you a tremendous credibility boost to do so. Setting aside a few minutes to train for a big debut one day can pay off very well.