Work Habits To Master For Your Career

Some of the most successful people in the world attribute their success to consistency and good habits. Developing good work habits helps create a strong foundation for your career. It takes discipline to get rid of bad habits and create new ones. It’s hard but it is not impossible.

 In an experiment conducted by Wendy Wood, she states that “there are three main principles to consider when effectively changing habitual behavior.” First you “must derail existing habits and create a window of opportunity to act on new intentions.” The second principle focuses on repetition because the more you practice a habit, you will learn to master it and become accustomed to it. The last principle is to establish stable context clues “in order to trigger a new pattern because it's easier to maintain the behavior if it's repeated in a specific context.” Keep these principles in mind when practicing new work habits. 

 Whether you're reading this article to better your everyday work life, striving for a promotion or trying to kick bad habits to the curb here are three great habits that will help you out in your journey. 

Fix Your Sleep Schedule

 Adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep to function at full capacity. Dr. Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology, states that sleep preps the brain for information input and facilitates information storage. Humans have a biological need for sleep and lack of sleep inhibits the ability to learn. Your sleep habits are essential to your work performance. This habit will enhance your learning abilities and allow your brain to function at its best at work. 

Take Action 

 Be an action-oriented individual at your workplace, we all know that actions speak louder than words. Develop a habit of taking action on your ideas and tasks. Taking action is the only way to advance, improve, and solve problems. Those who do take action and do the work will receive credit for it. This is a great habit to practice when climbing the career ladder.

Get Organized

 Clutter is in no way beneficial to you. It wastes time, brings stress, and negatively affect your job performance. Develop a habit of being organized to ensure that you always prepared and a reliable asset to your workplace. Planners and other organization tools will bring clarity and allow you to focus on your duties. 

 Work habits and learning processes will be different for each individual. There is no magic number of days to break or develop new habits so, don’t give up. Remember that you have the willpower to decide and commit to success. 

Source:

 D. T. Neal, W. Wood, M. Wu, D. Kurlander. The Pull of the Past: When Do Habits Persist Despite Conflict With Motives? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2011

Dr. Matthew Walker on Sleep for Enhancing Learning, Creativity, Immunity, and Glymphatic System. (2019, February 28) https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/matthew-walker.