PERHAPS YOU’VE already decided on your 2017 resolutions or maybe you need a little inspiration. Lose weight … Make more “me” time … Work smarter. These are all admirable commitments but the trick to a good resolution is to be specific and outline actionable tasks that will get you there.
INVISION’s raison d’etre is to help you work smarter, so we’ve complied tips to help you tackle one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions out there — a happier, more successful professional life. Reducing stress, improving organization, refocusing on what you love about your job, read on for 29 small steps you can take for big results.
1.Write down three things you love about your current work situation.
2.Post positive images (or pictures that make you smile) in your workspace.
3. Listen to Bright Side Of The Road by Van Morrison with its “life is short” lyrics set to incredibly upbeat music.
4. Read The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance by Tony Schwartz with Jean Gomes and Catherine McCarthy Ph. D.
5.Establish a fixed time for exercise. There is a close correlation between physical fitness and a positive mental outlook. If you don’t exercise regularly, start with a daily 15-minute walk. If you do, add something new to your routine.
6. Read The Power Of Full Engagement, Managing Energy, Not Time, Is The Key To High Performance And Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz
7. Take a five-minute meditation break. Have trouble getting zen? Try apps like Calm or Headspace for help.
8. Set five personal work goals you’d like to accomplish this month.
9. Practice 1 percent. Whatever you want to get better at, do 1 percent more each day. One percent a day, compounded, is 3800 percent.
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10.Do not — repeat, do not — beat yourself up when you miss your goals or fall off schedule.
11.Set auto reminders on your calendar at periodic times of the day reminding yourself to take a break, breathe, believe in yourself or repeat any other positive affirmation that speaks to you.
12. Listen to “Weightless” by English band Marconi Union. A 2011 Mindlab International study found it was able to reduce stress by up to 65 percent.
13. Meet a friend for lunch, or take your daily walk and find a picnic bench, instead of eating at your desk.
14. Enroll in a seminar, or CE course, on a topic you find interesting.
15.Bookmark sites on your computer or phone sure to make you giggle whenever I need a good laugh; silly videos, adorable animals, or our personal favorite, Damn You Autocorrect!
16. Smile. Right now. Even if nobody is looking.
17. Read Crazy Busy, Overstretched, Overbooked, And About To Snap! Strategies For Handling Your Fast-Paced Life by Edward M. Hallowell M.D.
18. Alternate your volunteer projects with Game or Trivia Night’s at a local watering hole.
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19.If you use social media, professionally and/or personally, only post good and positive messages. There is too much negativity in the world already, no need to proliferate more.
20. Commit a random act of kindness for a co-worker (or client) every day.
21.Better yet, take periodical social media sabbaticals. Schedule regular weekly or monthly digital blackout periods… use the time to read one of the recommended books on this list.
22.Create a “sunshine file” where you collect all expressions of gratitude — thank-you notes, photos, awards — you receive. Visit it when you need to remember why you do this.
23.Have at least an hour of work time every week where you do unstructured brainstorming and big-picture thinking away from your computer and desk. Bring a notebook (the paper kind).
24. Work like you exercise — go hard, then rest. Try this suggestion from The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working, work with as much focus as you can for 90 minutes. Then relax for 15 minutes to a half hour. Repeat throughout your work day. Build your schedule with 90-minute blocks of intense, focused work interspersed with short periods of “recovery.”
25.Declutter your workspace. File or discard receipts, orders and patient files. Return pulled frames to their correct place. Office clutter undermines productivity and motivation.
26. Gather a team of co-workers and sign up for a volunteer project.
27. Mark March 20. The United Nations has declared it the International Day of Happiness and it is being observed by a growing number of organizations every year. What can you do in your office?
28. Mentor a younger co-worker, if you’re a one-man show consider bringing on an intern or apprentice interested in the eyecare field.
29. Totally unplug at least once a year and go on a trip. Leaving the country is preferable, but it can be as easy as a road trip to tour the National Parks in your state, just hang up the Do Not Disturb sign and mean it!
This article originally appeared in the January 2017 edition of INVISION.