Many of us have been doing our jobs for a long time. Some of us are even starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And I’m not talking near death experience! Whether we’re getting close to retirement, or we are just getting fed up with doing the same thing every day, day after day, we have to resist the temptation to start “just phoning it in.” Especially when we are dealing with people and they think they know it all, and they’re wrong, and you know the answer, it’s easy to become oblivious to what they are feeling and just want to get on with it. But we have to remember, it’s still our reputation and the reputation of our company we are getting paid to uphold. If you are getting a paycheck, you still have to do your job. If you’ve worked for years creating a good reputation, you don’t want to go out on a sour note just because you have become comfortably oblivious to what is going on around you.
It’s time for self-assessment. Have you gotten complacent? Are you too set in your ways? No matter where you are in your career or life, you should always be looking for growing opportunities. It’s never too late to learn something new. When was the last time you learned something new? If you do not like your answers to these questions, and I hope you’re being honest, here are some things you can do to help revitalize yourself this year.
• Wake up! I mean it. Do things that give you more energy to get through the day. Start a 10 minute work before you start your shift. Get those endorphins moving so you can start the day in a better frame of mind.
• Take ownership! Where you would normally not get involved and be more apt to dis-engage, take the bull by the horns. Don’t blame a bad situation on that lazy person, or the culture here. Take charge of a new project. Ask for more responsibility if you think you can do it better. Even if you’ve tried before, but nothing changed, try again. Imagine if Martin Luther King or Steve Jobs got complacent and stopped every time they tried to move people or inspire a change, and it didn’t happen.
• Set a personal or professional goal and create a reward for yourself if you achieve it. Nothing like a carrot dangling in front of you to energize you and keep you motivated to the finish line.
Let’s make the most out of our time at work. We sure spend plenty of time there!
Thoughts…….. Contact me at abbe@TECResourceCenter.com