You should never underestimate small daily habits that you’re really consistent about. Think about it – it’s these small habits that can ruin your health if you tend to snack junk food in front of a TV and it’s the small habits that can help you get in shape if you exercise for just 15-20 minutes a day. In that respect, there’s no reason to burden yourself with huge goals career-wise. Everything achievable and worth achieving can be achieved in baby steps. But, your mental health, well-being, and confidence can all benefit from these small daily habits. And once you get into a consistent routine of taking good care of yourself, you’ll see a big positive impact on your performance and career as well.
1. Read
Yes, reading every day is one of those small daily habits that can make a huge difference in your life, and especially your career. Don’t treat this like work or chore; reading should be a fun part of your day. What’s more, you don’t have to commit yourself to reading a new book every week. Sometimes you can read a book that you simply like; another day check out books that relate to your professional field; the day after you can read a new blog post that clarifies some work-related things to you. Keep it easy and don’t hesitate to boost your knowledge and communication skills through this amazing means. As mentioned, start slowly; even just a couple of pages a day will soon make a difference.
2. Connect
You probably spend some time on social media channels every day. And this is perfectly fine, it’s all good fun. But, how often do you actually talk to other people on social media? Not that often, right? It’s all common knowledge by now – reach out to people on LinkedIn and professional Facebook group in order to make better career opportunities and enlarge your network. But, realistically, you won’t be able to do this every single day. However, what you can do is engage; comment on different statuses and updates of your colleagues and acquaintances; talk to a friend; share something in groups you’re a member of. This may not seem like much at first but it’s still effort on your part that keeps you connected and open for communication at any time. And the time when you might need a reference or an actual offer will come.
3. Write
Now, don’t get scared. If your job doesn’t have much to do with writing and you never really enjoyed writing at school, don’t immediately dismiss this particular habit. This isn’t school. When writing is concerned, it can be really anything – anything that helps you put your thoughts, feelings, stress and maybe even frustration on paper (or Word document). Basically, try journaling. There are plenty of mental benefits when it comes to journaling because it allows you to face your mind in a calm and a relaxed way. And even if journaling isn’t for you, write a blog post or share something that happened to you with a friend online. Just don’t be afraid to let your fingers go wild.
4. Ask questions
Finally, one of the most important small daily habits that will change you, your lifestyle and your career deeply is your ability and readiness to ask questions. The more questions you ask, the better it is! Feel free to ask different kinds of questions as well. You can ask your boss how they started their entrepreneurship; ask your colleagues about their work and projects; ask things that you don’t understand at work and in life; ask about news; ask about recent discoveries; ask to your heart’s content as you should never miss an opportunity to learn and enrich your own knowledge as well as your own attitude towards other people.
These may not seem like much at first and some of you may find it difficult to grasp just how the above-mentioned small daily habits can impact your career. But as these simple activities help you grow as a person and feel better about yourself, you’ll definitely be able to notice a positive change in the professional field, too.