There’s a common misconception that you need to burn the midnight oil to get ahead in your career. The more time you spend at work, the more time you have to get stuff done and show everyone how hard you work. However, those who are successful know that you can make the most of your day by being thoughtful about how you use your time—and that means knowing when it’s best to be there and when it’s best to unplug and recharge.
If you find yourself staying late at work or pulling all-nighters, you may have too much on your plate. If that’s the case, here are some tips for getting organized so you don’t feel like there’s no way out except to stay up until two in the morning.
You might be a workaholic. You might have been working around the clock for years, barely taking time off to spend with your family. Your dedication to your employer has earned you some brownie points—maybe even an extra paycheck in the end. But how much further can you tread on this path? Are there ways to grow your career without sacrificing your health and family life?
With a few innovative strategies, you can make the most of your time and fuel your career growth without sacrificing work-life balance—or your sleep. Here are seven ways to stay ahead of the game.
1 Getting In Early
It’s no secret that getting into work early has its benefits. Not only will you have a jump on everyone else, but you’ll also get more done before the office becomes noisy and distracting. Take this time to plan out your day or focus on tasks that require a lot of energy and focus. Your morning will be more productive and allow you to tackle other responsibilities later in the day with ease.
2 Carve Time Out Of Your Day To Focus On Yourself
You need to take care of your own needs to best help others. This means carving out time to focus on yourself and your career advancement goals. This may mean taking a break from work every day, walking, or doing yoga or meditation. It might also mean carving out some time every week for professional development activities such as attending seminars or reading books on topics that interest you.
Focus on career advancement by maintaining your needs, such as adequate sleep, proper nutrition, exercise, spiritual growth, professional growth, and personal growth. These things are part of your daily routine because they will help you succeed overall at work and in life.
3 Take Responsibility For Your Own Career
If you want to get ahead at work, you don’t necessarily have to work longer hours. Sometimes, you need to work smarter. Focusing on the tasks that will most benefit your company—and your career—can help you make an impression and move up the ladder. Putting yourself in a position to be noticed by upper management is key.
To keep your career growth, think about what you can do daily to become a better employee. Make sure that you’re always bringing your best self to the job and taking responsibility for your own career development.
If you do the same thing every day, you can expect the same results. If you seek career advancement, do something every day to make that possible.
4 Improve Your Communication Skills
Being a good communicator is a skill that you need to succeed in your career. If you are not a good communicator, you may find yourself in trouble. There are several ways to improve your communication skills, and they do not require you to spend too much time learning them.
This is how you can improve your communication skills:
- Listen More than Speak
- Be Prepared for the Conversation
- Be an Active Listener
- Use Visual Aids When Possible
- Be Assertive Instead of Aggressive
- Study Body Language
- Join Toastmasters To Improve Speaking Skills
5 Choosing Your Friends Wisely
Do you know the term guilty by association? The same holds true in the workplace. Choose friends that can help you grow. Find a mentor.
Find friends who motivate you and push you out of your comfort zone. If all of your friends are going out for drinks after work and getting home at midnight, it will be difficult for you to get ahead because you’ll be too tired the next day to work hard on a project or put in some extra hours at work.
Focus on friendships that support your overall goals, not hinder them—even if those friendships exist outside of the office.
6 Learn From Those You Admire
Think about a few people you admire in your life—maybe it’s an older sibling, a teacher, a distant relative, or someone else you’ve always looked up to. Instead of just wishing you could be as successful as possible, make sure you’re learning from them!
Try to pinpoint the things that make them so accomplished. Is it their work ethic? Their patience? Something else? That way, you’ll have something specific to emulate and work towards. For example, if you think your sister is the most patient person you know (and she probably is), make an effort to take on tasks that require patience—like listening to your co-workers’ complaints from time to time—and try to match her level of tolerance.
Or, if there’s a colleague who’s talented at networking and making new connections, ask him for advice about how he does it so well. Maybe someday soon, you’ll be the one giving out pointers!
7 Share Your Knowledge With Others
“Ask me to do anything, but don’t ask me to do nothing.” People who share their knowledge and experience with others tend to feel more engaged and purposeful. They also grow professionally faster because they’re always learning something new. This tip is about tapping into that energy.
When you share your knowledge with others, you become more knowledgeable yourself. Think of the last time you gave a presentation at a meeting or wrote up a report for your boss. You had to research the topic, make sense of it, and then organize it to be easily understood by others—meaning you learned even more about it yourself in the process.
By sharing your knowledge with others, you will always be learning something new yourself. If there are things that come up that you don’t know the answers to, don’t be afraid to admit it. Ask questions and seek out the answers so that next time someone comes looking for advice, you’ll have all the information they need at your fingertips. Plus, this is a great way to build rapport with colleagues or clients who may be able to help.
Grow Your Career Without Working Overtime
It’s easy to get caught up in the hype and feel that you have to work harder and longer to stay ahead of the game. But that’s just not true—you can work smarter, not harder. You don’t need to give everything you have day after day, and you don’t need to be chained to your office every night. And even though burning the midnight oil may be tempting to keep your career moving forward, it’s just not worth it in the long run. Click here
