What are good work habits? Do you want to develop a strong work ethic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exhibiting good work habits not only makes you stand out to managers or other employees, but it can help you achieve your work goals. These work habits can cater to anybody\u2014whether you want to run your own business, want to get solo projects done, or want to get a raise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some great work habits<\/a> to develop so you can have a successful career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Many people assume that business operations\u2014the routines and processes that allow a company to function\u2014rely on a continuous sequence of rational and deliberate choices. According to Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> this is not the case. He argues that businesses rely on automatic routines to save energy<\/strong>. Automatic routines help managers and employees get things done without having to question every action they take. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Duhigg continues, many of these collective<\/em> habits grow organically from an accumulation of individual<\/em> decisions taken by different managers and employees. Over time, the company loses track of the individual decisions that initiated the habits that are now deeply ingrained in the company\u2019s culture. As a result, they end up acting out these automatic routines without an awareness of why they\u2019re engaging in these behavioral patterns. New employees quickly adopt these habits to fit in, and the cycle of automatic routines perpetuates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Duhigg argues that, when a company is unaware of the automatic routines that underpin its organization, it can easily fall into the trap of adopting deconstructive habits that undermine its operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, one manager\u2019s habit of missing important deadlines may encourage her entire department to develop a relaxed attitude toward meeting target dates, and this has a domino effect on the rest of the company. To avoid failing company-wide deadlines and undermining their reputation, other employees and managers may develop the habit of compensating for this department\u2019s inefficiencies. However, this habit encourages them to feel overworked and resentful and ultimately leads to further inefficiencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To resolve these types of situations, Duhigg suggests that companies deliberately<\/em> cultivate habits that support every practice in the company such as communication, collaboration, and morale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u200b\u200b \r\nTITLE: The Power of Habit In Atomic Habits<\/em><\/a>, James Clear explains that implementing good work habits called \u201catomic habits,\u201d or small improvements in behavior, changes your life because behaviors <\/strong>compound<\/em><\/strong>\u2014that is, they build on each other to create more and more changes. Performing one good behavior leads to another, then another\u2014and soon, you\u2019ve transformed your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clear identifies three levels of atomic habits: goal-driven, system-driven, and identity-driven habits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clear explains that a goal-driven habit is a behavior you do to achieve a specific goal. This is the most common way people try to change their behavior: For example, you might choose to study two extra hours each day to <\/em>ace a specific test. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clear contends that system-driven habits are those that focus on the systems<\/em>, or processes, that will get you to your goal, instead of focusing on the goal itself. For example, developing a study routine is a system-driven habit because it focuses on the process<\/em> of studying rather than the goal<\/em> of acing a specific test or course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Clear explains that identity-driven habits are behaviors we perform because they match our beliefs about who we are\u2014in other words, our identity. For example, if you believe<\/em> you\u2019re a good student, you have a study routine because that\u2019s what good students do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eat That Frog!<\/em><\/a> <\/em>by Brian Tracy says that to succeed, you need to develop good work habits. The key is overcoming procrastination and tackling your most important task. With diligent practice, it eventually becomes automatic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Making a habit<\/a> of getting your most important things done has two payoffs: immediate satisfaction and long-term success. Doing challenging tasks successfully sets up a positive feedback loop. Completing a big job releases endorphins in your brain that make you feel good. You experience a burst of energy and self-confidence. The more important the task, the happier you are getting it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A secret of success is that you can get addicted to the endorphin-induced feelings of self-confidence and capability that come from completing a big job. Subconsciously, you aim to complete more such tasks because you\u2019re addicted to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s one of the keys to long-term success and living a happy life<\/a>. When you have a success habit, it becomes easier to do the important things than to dodge them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are three steps to developing the focus and perseverance to get things done: decide, discipline yourself, and practice:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nTITLE: Atomic Habits The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People<\/em><\/a> <\/em>by Stephen Covey distills this timeless wisdom into seven lifelong practices for building a successful, fulfilling life<\/strong>. Collectively, these good work habits help you to identify and accomplish the things that are most important to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey writes that to improve your behaviors, yourself, and your life, you must first examine and shift your paradigms, which are the lenses through which you see the world. Your paradigms, or perspectives, shape how you interpret your situations and surroundings, and your interpretations dictate your behavior; thus, changing your perspective <\/em>changes your behavior<\/em>.<\/strong> Taking this a step further, your behaviors determine your outcomes, which collectively shape your life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take initiative (Covey labels this habit \u201cbe proactive\u201d). In other words, change the problems that you can change and accept the ones you can\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Covey, Habit 1 lays the foundation for the subsequent habits because taking initiative is key to adopting new behaviors. Rather than being reactive <\/em>(externally influenced) and allowing your environment or circumstances to dictate how you feel and act, being proactive<\/em> (initiative-taking) empowers you to choose your thoughts and actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For each of your concerns, determine which category it falls into, and act accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Determine who you want to be and what\u2019s important to you, and keep these goals front of mind with a personal mission statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey argues that you have to imagine the life you want before you can achieve it. Vividly envisioning your goal keeps you focused on your destination amid daily demands and distractions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Habit 2<\/a> is a two-part process: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Prioritize your time and actions to live up to your personal mission statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To prioritize the tasks that will have the biggest positive impact on your life, Covey promotes a time management matrix<\/a> originally designed by President Eisenhower that categorizes tasks based on their urgency and importance (meaning that they contribute to your goals, values, and personal mission statement). The matrix has four task categories, which Covey refers to as quadrants: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey asserts that weekly planning<\/a> is the most effective way to manage your time and achieve your goals<\/strong>: A weekly schedule is narrow enough to ensure important tasks get done promptly, and it\u2019s broad enough to be flexible when things come up unexpectedly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow these steps to create your weekly plan: <\/p>\n\n\n\n When tackling a problem or negotiating with someone, always strive to find a mutually beneficial solution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Habits 1-3 focus on personal effectiveness, Covey says that <\/strong>Habits 4-6 focus on building interdependent (or collaborative) success through strong relationships and effective interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Habit 4<\/a> is the first step: Approach every interaction as an opportunity to find a mutually beneficial outcome, which Covey calls a \u201cWin\/Win\u201d mindset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you\u2019ve adopted the right mindset and you sit down to negotiate or work together, how do you actually arrive at a mutually beneficial solution? Covey offers these tips:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When communicating with others, Covey urges you to try to understand their <\/em>perspective before asking them to understand yours<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey points out that you can\u2019t reach a mutually<\/em> beneficial solution without first understanding the other person\u2019s interests. This requires empathic listening<\/a>, or striving to understand the other person\u2019s perspectives by interpreting what they\u2019re saying as well as how they feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey suggests you practice empathic listening with these exercises: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey contends that collaborating (creating what he calls \u201csynergy\u201d) with another person enables you to achieve more than either of you could alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey believes that collaboration creates outcomes greater than the sum of the parts, as in 1+1 = 3 or more (for example, one singer plus another singer creates harmony). This is possible because the relationship itself adds value by creating the opportunity for collaboration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The mutually beneficial mindset from Habit 4 and empathic listening from Habit 5 foster trust and goodwill, which are necessary for effective communication and collaboration. Covey suggests that the collaborative process then strengthens the relationship, which benefits future collaborations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To effectively collaborate, Covey says you need \u201cinternal synergy.\u201d In other words, be both analytical and intuitive, because life can be logical as well as emotional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey\u2019s final good work habit, self-renewal, maintains your well-being so that you can continue doing the work of Habits 1-6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey asserts that keeping yourself mentally and physically healthy prevents burnout, supports productivity, and actually improves your overall efficiency and effectiveness<\/a>, creating an upward spiral of growth. Self-renewal also helps you stay disciplined and focused on your goals and values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Covey advises practicing four aspects of self-renewal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \r\nTITLE: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Technology is one of the biggest distractions from work<\/a> today. Television, social media, and even emails can distract you from getting work done during the day. Let\u2019s look at a few good work habits to make that include limiting your technology intake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first good work habit you should make when it comes to technology is scheduling in advance when you\u2019ll use the Internet. Avoid it completely outside these times. <\/strong>In Deep Work<\/em><\/a>, Cal Newport gives some tips on how to make the most of this practice: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Newport says that social media is insidious in that it seems like you\u2019re doing productive things when really the gains are minor. <\/strong>To begin managing the way you use tech, Newport suggests taking the following steps to examine each of your tech tools in regards to their benefits, cost, and opportunity cost<\/strong>. This will help you clearly see which tools are worth your time and which aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The single most pernicious device that impinges on your ability to concentrate is your smartphone. Phones have completely revolutionized society by bringing great advances to our ability to communicate and access information. However, the price we\u2019ve paid as individuals is a massive drain on our time and attention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Make Time<\/em><\/a> by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky recommends deleting all social media apps, games, and even your email from your phone<\/strong>. If that\u2019s too extreme, they suggest you turn off all notifications and remove the apps from your homescreen, forcing you to choose <\/em>when to use each app. Finally, you can leave your phone behind, especially while you\u2019re working. Leave your phone at home, in another room, or even in a locker if one\u2019s available. In other words, turn your phone into a tool that serves <\/strong>you<\/em><\/strong>, not the other way around.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people make clearing their inbox a priority every day. This can become so overwhelming that responding to email uses up most of your productive time. While many jobs require quick email responses, Knapp and Zeratsky point out that for most of us, always responding isn\u2019t as important as you\u2019d think. Your employer or business will benefit more if you make a good work habit of doing meaningful work<\/a><\/strong> than squandering it by reacting to random email queries. If your job is such that some <\/em>communication is time-sensitive, you can set up an email autoresponse to let people know how to reach you by other means (such as your business phone).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors present several strategies to take control of your email time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These practices will probably stop you from cleaning out your inbox every day. In that case, Knapp and Zeratsky advise that you set \u201conce a week\u201d as a more realistic goal for an empty inbox. Whichever method you choose, let your colleagues (and friends and family) know that you\u2019re going to address email slowly, and not to expect a rapid response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This good work habit may be particularly hard to adjust to, because relaxing at the end of the day is so important, and we\u2019re currently living in a Golden Age of quality TV content. However, most of us don\u2019t realize how much time we actually give up to the TV. The authors suggest making TV an occasional indulgence, not an everyday activity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, you can save money <\/em>on your TV by being intentional about what you watch<\/strong>. If you cancel continuous streaming subscriptions, you can still rent individual movies or shows from platforms such as Amazon and YouTube, or borrow DVDs for free from your local library. Most streaming platforms make it possible to subscribe long enough to binge a series and cancel when you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \r\nTITLE: Deep Work Most people want to be millionaires so they can quit their day jobs, travel, buy nice things, spend time with the people they care about, and pursue a hobby or a passion. However, in The 4-Hour Workweek<\/em><\/a>, Tim Ferriss argues <\/strong>that <\/strong>you don\u2019t need a million dollars to have a millionaire lifestyle. He explains that one way of getting rich and working less is to develop good work habits that involve avoiding busywork and people, and handling routine tasks all at once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of us probably approach our chores and tasks by managing our time, prioritizing, and finding efficient ways to get things done. However, Ferriss says the best way to save time is to do only things that matter, and stop doing everything that doesn\u2019t. <\/strong>To do this, keep two principles in mind: The 80\/20 rule and Parkinson\u2019s Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Bad Habits Negatively Impact Your Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\r\nAUTHOR: Charles Duhigg
\r\nTIME: 22
\r\nREADS: 42.8
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/powerofhabit_cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: the-power-of-habit-summary-charles-duhigg
\r\nAMZN_ID: B0055PGUYU
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Different Kinds of Habits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Goal-Driven Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
System-Driven Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Identity-Driven Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Habits to Get the Most Important Things Done<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nAUTHOR: James Clear
\nTIME: 54
\nREADS: 1490.5
\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/atomic-habits-cover.png
\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: atomic-habits-summary-james-clear
\nAMZN_ID: XYZ
\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nStephen Covey\u2019s 7 Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Habit 1: Take Initiative<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Habit 2: Envision the Life You Want<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Habit 3: Prioritize Important Over Urgent<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Habit 4: Seek Mutual Benefits<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Habit 5: Listen and Understand the Other First<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Habit 6: Collaborate to Create Possibilities<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Habit 7: Practice Self-Renewal<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\r\nAUTHOR: Stephen R. Covey
\r\nTIME: 55
\r\nREADS: 36.6
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/7habits-cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people-summary-stephen-covey
\r\nAMZN_ID: 147112939X
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nHabits That Will Reduce Technology Intake<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Schedule Internet Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Examine Your Tech Tools<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Lock Down Your Phone<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Slow Down Your Email<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Turn Off Your TV<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\r\nAUTHOR: Cal Newport
\r\nTIME: 18
\r\nREADS: 184.3
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/deepwork_cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: deep-work-summary-cal-newport
\r\nAMZN_ID: B00X47ZVXM
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\nHabits to Get Rich and Work Less<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Eliminate Work That Doesn\u2019t Matter<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n