5 Work Habits That Are Holding You Back

We often hear and read talk of the good habits we should form at work or the morning habits necessary for a successful day, but there are some habits we should get rid of.

Without changing some of the things that are holding us back in our career we will continue to struggle and wonder why we’re not hitting our career goals.

Here are some basic, but often overlooked, habits that can sink your performance on the job and prevent your career from taking off.

Not having a plan. If you don’t start your day with a plan made up of clearly attainable goals, you’ll have a difficult time accomplishing anything of value during your work day. Focus on 3-5 attainable priorities for your day and you’ll feel a greater sense of accomplishment and make real progress toward your longer-term goals.

Taking work home. A consistent practice of taking work home might indicate that you are not using your time proficiently at your work place and need to develop better strategies for time and project management. You are also more likely to experience stress which can lead to a poor performance at work and increased dissatisfaction with your personal life.

   

Multi-tasking. Contrary to previous thought, multi-tasking is not a skill you want to try to master. The most productive people are those who focus on one task for a specified period of time, allowing them to bring their full attention and skill to their work. Attempting to multi-task often leaves you distracted, and the work you accomplish is often of lower quality than when you’re able to give your undivided attention to the job. 

Negative attitude. Sometimes we develop a consistent pattern of thinking negatively about our job or workplace and don’t even consciously realize that we’re bring this negative energy into the office with us every day. Take time to evaluate your words, your interactions, and your attitudes about your job for any negativity. If you find that you’ve developed a habit of negativity work to change your thoughts through meditation or other practices.

Working tired. You likely would not want to have heart surgery performed on you by a doctor who had very little sleep the night before. Nor would you want to get on a plane with a pilot who could barely stay awake. Yet many of us habitually go into work fatigued and unable to perform our job to the best of our ability. This is an unsustainable habit that will prevent you from achieving the success you desire.

If any of these five habits are holding you back in your career, make a change today.

How to Lose Friends & Coworkers in the Work Place

 

There are some sure-fire ways to antagonize your co-workers and colleagues and you likely know one or two people you’d prefer not to work with.

It’s always good to evaluate our behavior at work to confirm we’re not making our co-worker’s lives more difficult. And if you are new to a workplace ensure that the following behaviors do not become part of your routine.

Be late for meetings. Your colleagues value their time and don’t want to spend any additional time in meetings. So, avoid tardiness so you don’t develop the habit of being the one person everyone is constantly waiting for.

Have a negative attitude. No one wants to work with a person who sees the negative in everything, always knows why every project will fail, or believes the company is going bankrupt. A negative attitude will make it difficult to advance in your career.

Fail to meet deadlines. When you have coworkers depending on you to complete a project you need to … complete the project. On time. Few failures will alienate you faster at work than failing to deliver on your promises and projects. You’ll soon wonder why key assignments are not coming your way.

Communicate poorly. Success at work and on the job requires the ability to communicate clearly and well with colleagues and clients, both in person and in writing. It can be incredibly frustrating to deal with a co-worker who struggles to effectively communicate and can slow down work on projects.

Gossip about your co-workers. When you’re told something in confidence, whether from a co-worker, or some insider company info, it’s important to be able to hold that information privately, rather than sharing it with others or spreading gossip. Developing a reputation as a gossip is a sure-fire way to sabotage your career and prevent opportunities for advancement.

There are many other ways to alienate your co-workers—leaving a mess in co-working spaces, heating up that salmon leftover in the microwave in your kitchenette, or clipping toe nails at your desk—but you're probably savvy enough to figure those out on your own.

4 Attitude Adjustments to Make About Your Job & Career

Did you find it difficult to get up this morning with enthusiasm for your job? If so, you’re not alone. Depending on what you read, most people are dissatisfied with their work situation.

If you are unhappy with your work, there are ways to make your job work for you until you move into a more satisfying position. But it will take some work and some changes to your attitude.

Make the effort to make some adjustments to how you view and approach your job and you can see your satisfaction levels increase.

View your job as an opportunity for growth. No matter what position you’re in the job provides opportunities for growth. You might have to look hard for these opportunities and the truth is, they might not be directly related to your job, but they exist. For example, if your current position does not seem to offer a way to move up or receive a promotion you can view this as a chance to develop patience. You might be an impatient person and this situation with your job allows you a chance to grow in this area of your life. Sure, it’s not why you took the job in the first place but don’t let that stop you from growing as a person.

View your job as an opportunity to serve. Wherever you work and whatever the nature of your job, your efforts impact others, regardless of whether you work as part of a team or are a lone freelancer. Someone else depends upon your efforts. You have an opportunity to serve those “customers” by making their work experience more pleasant and easier by doing excellent work with a view to support and serve others.

View your job as an opportunity to fulfill your purpose. As noted above, if most people feel dissatisfied at work, it’s likely they do not feel their job offers an opportunity to fulfill their purpose. To remedy this in your situation first requires you to become clear about your purpose. If you’ve done this work, then you are ready to think creatively about how your current job allows you to fulfill that purpose. You might find this to be a stretch, but you can likely come up with some basic ways your work supports the fulfillment of your purpose through your strengths and skills. 

View your job as a step to meeting your goals. You are not stuck, and this is not your final job (or resting place). There will be other opportunities that come along. View your current position as one step toward meeting your bigger goals and keep those goals clear, perhaps by writing them down and posting them on your desk in from of you. Take advantage of the opportunities that you have in your current position to develop the skills, learn the processes, gain the experience, and meet the people required to move to the next level in your career and meet your goals.

By adjusting your attitude to your job and career in these four ways, you can experience a greater sense of fulfillment, purpose, and energy at work.  

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 4 Ways to Advance Your Career Over the Holidays

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 4 Ways to Advance Your Career Over the Holidays: "The holiday season is a major time people reconnect, and see each other socially at everyone's holiday parties. Ask them to open up their Rolodex, and when they see people who can help you, they'll ask."

• 9 Ways to Say No to Negativity: "We collected the best negativity reduction tips from psychologists, coaches and authors to help you identify your look-on-the-gray-side habits and begin to chip away at them."

• Why You Should Always Say Yes to New Opportunities: "Jordan Taylor Wright explains how his passion and personality have propelled him to the success he enjoys today."

• 17 Of the Best Business Books to Give as Gifts This Holiday Season: "This book would make a great gift for anyone, but it's especially helpful for those who have expressed feelings of boredom or disdain towards their career."
• How to Convince Your Boss to Let You Work From Home: "More and more people are working remotely, and many say it improves their productivity and satisfaction — while also saving them time and money."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Is Job Hopping Really Just a Basic Human Need?

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• Is Job Hopping Really Just a Basic Human Need?: "Many people in the workforce have seen their parents and older colleagues reach the end of their careers only to wonder what the sustained effort added up to. So they make career changes to stay engaged, clear space for the personal lives, and pursue side projects and passions outside of work."

• Three Ways to Bounce Back After Adversity: "Failing can open up the chance to improve the skills you currently have and gain insight into what makes you unique."

• How to Get Better at Dealing with Change: "Reminding ourselves of what’s important to us — family, friends, religious convictions, scientific achievement, great music, creative expression, and so on — can create a surprisingly powerful buffer against whatever troubles may be ailing us."

• 6 Tips for Smart Risk-Taking: "What is the worst thing that will happen if this does not go as planned? If the worst thing happens, can I work around it? How would failure impact my other goals? Am I OK with that impact? If I'm comfortable with the answers to these questions, I'll move forward."

• How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity: "All the extra cortisol released by frequent complaining impairs your immune system and makes you more susceptible to high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease and obesity. It even makes the brain more vulnerable to strokes."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Evaluate, Manage, and Strengthen Your Resilience

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• How to Evaluate, Manage, and Strengthen Your Resilience: "Maintaining a positive outlook and regularly expressing gratitude are the bullion bars that have real value in backstopping and building resilience."
• 5 Ways the Rules of Success Have Changed: "Technology has made it possible for you to create the essential elements of business out of thin air. For the very first time, individuals can disrupt entire industries by themselves."
• How to Be More Confident at Work: "One of the best ways to build confidence is to get clear on your strengths and find ways to integrate those strengths into what you do every day."
• The Best Ways to Block Out Office Negativity: "While you may not be able to immediately change the challenging situations around you, it's possible that with a little practice, you can learn to recognize particular patterns of thinking that are keeping you feeling bad at work for longer than necessary."
• Are You a Terrible Boss?: "As an employee, it’s really hard to get anything done if your boss is constantly stepping in and trying to hold your hand when you really don’t need it."

5 Steps to Developing a Positive Reputation at Your Workplace

In order to achieve great things in your life and career you need to work at it. Success will not be handed to you without putting in the time necessary. One key to becoming successful in your career is to develop a great reputation in your workplace. This will carry over to other jobs as your former colleagues speak positively and enthusiastically about you and the work you do.

Here are five steps to developing a great reputation at work:

1. Do great work. Of course the first thing you need to do is deliver on your promises. Do great work, deliver it on time (or preferably early), and meet or exceed any financial targets for your work. Doing a great job in all aspects of your work is the foundation for your reputation.

2. Be of service. Support your colleagues and co-workers and provide assistance when and where needed. Be the first to volunteer to help on a project or step in when another colleague is out sick.

3. Participate in task-forces or work groups. Get to know others within your company and increase your understanding of the industry by participating in cross-functional teams, task-forces, and other types of work groups.

4. Avoid negative talk. Do not criticize your supervisor or upper management in conversation with your colleagues. If you have an issue or concern take it directly to your supervisor of executive. Make every effort to speak positively about your work and the people you work with. Be a source of encouragement, rather than another naysayer in the workplace.

5. Be kind. In addition to doing great work, your reputation will be cemented by the way you treat people. Don't just watch your words. Your body language can indicate that you're not listening to someone or don't respect their opinion. And be kind to everyone, including the person at the front desk when you walk in. Greet everyone with a smile and treat them with kindness and you will be well on your way to developing a positive reputation at work.

4 Ways to Improve Your Job Satisfaction

When you've been in a job or a career for a few years (or sometimes even a few months) you can come to a place where the position has grown stale and you start feeling a little dread and anxiety on Sunday evenings.

Perhaps you're no longer challenged in your work or you don't get along with your supervisor or a co-worker.

Here are four ways to improve your job satisfaction and help make those Sunday evenings before starting the work week a little more enjoyable.

1. Attitude adjustment. It's no secret that our attitudes and beliefs play an important role in our job satisfaction. We tell ourselves how unhappy we are with certain aspects of the job or with someone we have to work with. We complain to others. Instead, take some time each morning to consider three things you appreciate about the job. They don't have to be profound and can be as simple as the job provides you with an income, or you enjoy the short commute. Focusing on a few positives about your work can help you start the day better.

2. Try something new. Identify a project that needs to get done and volunteer for it, especially if the project plays to your strengths or involves learning some new skills. Taking on a new challenge and learning something new will go along way towards increasing your job satisfaction.

3. Meet someone new. Make a point to avoid eating alone. Invite a colleague or co-worker to join you for lunch or a coffee break and don't just talk about work. Making a new friend on the job can make work more interesting and give you a good reason to look forward to the day.

4. Get organized. If you are disorganized or fall behind in your work it can make it difficult to enjoy your job and can increase your stress levels and anxiety. Clean and organize your desk, your computer, and your work environment and you'll feel more prepared to take on the responsibilities your job requires.

Making these four minor changes to your work routine can greatly improve your job satisfaction and make you eager to get to work on those important projects and tasks every Monday morning.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Shaking Up Your Career and Being Productive

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 7 Deadly Sins of a Job Seeker: "Planning for your job search enables you to properly target roles as well as manage your time and those you approach more effectively."


• Building Trust Will Get You Hired: "In order to show that you will be reliable in the future, demonstrate how you have been so the past."


• How to Shake Up Your Career in 2015: "Expand your talents and knowledge by signing up for a Mooc (massive open online course). From branding and management to film-making or forensic psychology, there's a huge range of free courses available to everyone."


• How to Stop Negative Thoughts: "Instead of allowing unfortunate situations, unlucky circumstances and foul people to suck the energy right out of you, turn to humor for a levity break."


• Surround Yourself with Productive People: "Productive people tend to organise not only themselves, but systems, schedules, and the other people around them. This is beneficial for the entire team."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 6 Jobs for Romantics

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 6 Jobs for Romantics: "If you’re in love with love 365 days a year, why not consider working a job that allows you to be around romance all day long? Here are six jobs for all of you romantics out there."


• How to Find a Job Using Google+: "What can Google+ possibly offer job seekers? In a nutshell: a lot."


• 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Accepting a Job Offer You Don’t Love: "Out of all of the interviews, you received one job offer. It wasn’t exactly what you wanted. Do you accept it? If you find yourself in this situation, here are some things to consider when accepting a job offer in which you aren’t completely in love."


• Your Company's in Turmoil. Should You Jump Ship?: "If your company is entering choppy waters, here are three questions to ask yourself to determine if it’s time to jump ship or settle in for the long haul."


• How to Stop Office Negativity: "The majority of your time is spent at work. Regardless of whether you love your job, or whether it’s only a necessity for keeping a roof over your kids’ heads, you can make it a happier and better place to be all those hours."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Negativity, Returning to School, and Meaningful Work

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

1. The Secret of Successful Networking: The Informational Interview
"The classic and most effective way of building a business network for job hunters is to engage in the process of embarking on many informational interviews."

2. 5 Steps to Releasing Your Negativity and Improving Your Opportunities 
"I’m sorry, folks, but if you want to build a great and satisfying career, you need people to help you.  You simply can’t do this alone, sitting at your computer."

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos 

3. Tell Me a Little About Yourself
"If you have ever been on a job interview the odds are you were asked this open-ended, break-the-ice question, which is often the first one asked."

4. Should You Go Back to School for Your Career?
"If you've been thinking about getting some additional formal education for a while and wondering if it's right for you, consider the following four questions before making your final decision."

5. Wanting Meaningful Work is Not a First World Problem
"Can you fill your belly and your wallet with meaning? Isn't meaning just the ultimate first world problem, just another saccharine flavor of: hey, which color leather should I choose for my new luxury SUV to match my plush designer handbag?"

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

1. 5 Techie Tools Every Job Seeker Should Use
"Technology provides the tools to make life easier, however, they are not the quick fix to getting a job. These tools will improve upon the job-search strategies you're already using."

2. 5 Career Training Tips Inspired by Olympic Athletes 
"Olympic athletes have an array of mentors, from coaches to physical therapists and expert analysts. Seek out peers and influential colleagues to learn more about your company, line of work or industry when you need help."

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos 

3. 5 Lessons the Presidential Campaign Teaches Us About Getting a Job
"While most of us won't experience anything near this level of intensity in our own job-search efforts, we can still learn quite a bit from watching the candidates as they make their way through the process of trying to get the country's most important job."

4. 5 Questions Great Job Candidates Ask
"Great candidates want to know what truly makes a difference. They know helping the company succeed means they succeed as well."

5. Colleagues Complaining? Why You Need to Tune it Out  
"It's clear that constant exposure to complaints will reinforce negative thinking, and your behavior is likely to change to fit those negative perceptions."

Flashing Lights and Career Realities

I'm positive that the state trooper saw me a good seven seconds before I saw him. Speeding (literally) up to the Twin Cities, I verbally articulated the first word that came into my head: crap. I was caught. No way around it. I immediately slowed down and nervously glanced in my rearview mirror to see if he would take advantage of the oh-so-convenient turnaround to pursue me.

The car slowed down and crossed the median into my lane of traffic. My heart sank.

To my surprise, I recovered in seconds. I resigned myself to my fate. I imagined the lights behind my car and the calm way I would pull over. Putting my car in park, I would pull out my driver's license and place my hands high on the steering wheel so so that they could be seen. I would roll my window down and respectfully answer any questions the officer had before receiving a ticket. Wishing the officer a good day, I would continue on to my destination at a more appropriate speed. The images in my head became more visceral as the car approached mine...

Only to pass me.

You might think that I let out a sigh or a *whew!*...but I didn't. I was at peace with it. There was nothing to comment upon.

There was a time when I would have experienced a wide range of emotions in the same situation: anger, shame, frustration, victimization, sadness, etc. What made this time different was my ability to quickly come to terms with something I couldn't change and make choices from a productive frame of mind. In this situation, I chose to be peaceful. I could have been angry, but what purpose would that have served?

During your career trajectory you're bound to encounter problems both foreseen and unforeseen: a layoff, a job rejection, a bad economy, or an awful interview. Coming to terms with the reality of your situation and settling into a tranquil place will enable you to recovery quickly and expend your energy on actions that will move you forward. Follow these steps to move into productivity:

1. Set a timer for 10 minutes. Consider this time your 10-Minute Pity Party. Cry. Yell. Stew. But once the timer is up, you're done.

2. Shake off the pity and take some deep breaths. Let's get introspective. Reflect on these questions:

• How am I portraying the real me in this situation?



• What advice would someone I look up to as a role model of productive behavior give me right now?



• What will I take from this situation to make me happier?

3. Create three realistic, actionable tasks (with due dates) based upon your answers to the above questions that will leave you feeling productive and proud.

It's unrealistic to think that the above will be magic formula to cure a bruised sense of self after a career setback. Practice the steps above and don't move forward until you feel you ready to do so. Challenge yourself to cope with the muck and move to the good of the situation to manifest and keep a sensational state of mind.

Don't make me send the police after you.

Deck Maintenance and Shaping a Brilliant Career

I'm looking out my office window right now at an unfinished deck. My in-laws are in town helping my wife and I replace wood that had either rotted away or was on its way to. Working on the deck has been an adventure for me; I'm learning skills that I have not learned before and taking part in tasks that I, until this point, never have. Last night I dreamed of radial saws and 2 x 6 pieces of wood. To me, the act of building is a whole new world, and not necessarily a world I want to delve more into. I have never considered myself a handyman (though I have a lot of respect for those that are) and working on the deck was an opportunity for me to spend time doing something I don't enjoy while simultaneously screwing it up. Double-whammy. It has to be done, though; a deck doesn't maintain itself.

Our deck came with the house we purchased. Isn't that a funny thought? We buy a house and-BOOM!-there's a deck. We tend to take for granted how we procure things. We can go to the store and buy nearly anything that we want without much thought or consideration of where it came from. Real people-whether in this country or elsewhere-put time and effort into creating, an act that deserves much respect and reverence. Real people built my deck.

But just like those people, we are creating, too; through our lives and specifically through our work. I ride the bus to work every morning, and my morning bus driver is a wonderful, upbeat individual. "Hello! How are you this morning, sir!" is what I'm greeted with when I get on the bus. I love his positive attitude and how chipper he is. He's creating an enjoyable experience for me as a bus passenger. And note that this enjoyable experience isn't necessarily a critical component of his job; his job is to get me to my destination safely and on-time. But he creates much more through his attitude. I know I'm not the only bus passenger who appreciates it.

We choose our attitudes; they don't choose use. It's a fact. And from that attitude comes how we approach our work. Was I going to approach the deck with a bad attitude or with the attitude of my bus driver? How do you you approach the work that you do? Reflect upon the questions below and let them influence you at work this week:

Do I approach what I do from a positive attitude? If so, why? If not, what is holding me back?

What more can I do in my current role that will further my career?

How do I use my current role to create in a brilliant way?

When was the last time I truly please someone in my current job? What did it feel like, and how can I create that moment again?

Now...there is a deck outside that deserves the pleasure of my attention.

Is a Negative Attitude Hampering Your Job Search?

Job searching can be frustrating, particularly when the search is prolonged. If you’re unemployed, you may be experiencing other feelings, like self-doubt, despair, anxiety, and anger. You may not be aware of it, but these negative feelings may be coming across in your job search—in cover letters, voice mails, networking opportunities, or interviews. Your verbal and body language may convey your annoyance with the process or the bad feelings you’re harboring about a past work situation.

Prospective employers typically steer clear of job candidates they perceive as having a negative attitude; they see it as a character trait that cannot be easily changed. Use the following tips to communicate a positive attitude while job searching:

Be grateful and positive: Stay focused on the good in your life. Find a way to keep these thoughts top of mind, whether that means taking a few minutes each day to think about all that’s good or just writing down something you’re grateful for each day and posting it someplace visible. By reflecting on gratitude, you are more apt to maintain and convey a positive mindset.
See your job search as an opportunity: If you think of your job search as an opportunity, you’ll have a better chance of finding a suitable job or resetting your career direction. Consider that your effort might lead to an exciting opportunity doing work you enjoy for a company and people who value you and your work.
Associate with positive people: Job searching can take its toll, so find a support group you can lean on and surround yourself with positive people who can encourage you.
Fake it until you feel it: Even if it doesn’t come naturally at first, smile and speak positively about your job search. Hopefully, over time, that optimistic feeling may become more genuine.
Don’t speak negatively about previous work situations: Even if you have legitimate complaints, avoid speaking negatively about a previous employer, manager, co-workers, or job. Rehashing negative situations can paint you as disgruntled, resentful, or difficult to get along with.
Don’t consider yourself a victim: Even in work situations where you have little or no control over decisions that impact you, avoid thinking of yourself as a victim. Remember you have a lot of choices concerning your career, and you can control how you perceive your situation and attitude.