If you are partially or completely in charge of setting your own work time, you will have to be sure to minimize distractions when working, and to work for a set period of time. Set a specific number of hours (e. g. 6 hours) and treat it like you’re in a professional office. Factor in time for breaks and meals, if necessary. [1] X Research source Piazza, C. (2008). Work ethic. In R. Kolb (Ed. ), Encyclopedia of business ethics and society. (pp. 2254-2256). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Diligently maintaining a log of the hours you work will help you to do this.
When you make a mistake or don’t complete your work, don’t make excuses. Owning your mistakes or shortcomings and promising to improve in the future shows maturity and a willingness to work well with others.
Avoid gossiping at work. This will show that you are focused on your job, treat others fairly, and are a good team player. Be personable and wish your coworkers well, but don’t get caught up in gossip, oversharing, or office drama.
Remember that if you tell yourself you need to put something on hold in order to take care of work first, it doesn’t mean that you’ll never get around to it. Reward yourself by relaxing or having fun after you’ve finished your work.
If you are in school or self-employed, then your hours might be flexible, and you will have to be diligent about making time specifically to do work. Even if an employer sets your work hours for you, however, you can benefit from declaring “focus time” if possible—ask others not to disturb you, turn off all electronic distractions, etc.
Be persistent if people try to pull you away from your work. For instance, if people distract you by chatting, tell them you have work that you’ve got to finish, but you’d love to catch up with them later.
Another technique to building up to longer periods of work is to push yourself a little further at times. When you feel like you don’t want to work any longer, or are looking for ways to procrastinate, don’t stop immediately. Instead, commit to working a little longer (20 minutes, for example), and then stopping.
There is some variation from person to person, but generally adults need 7. 5 to 8. 5 hours of sleep per day. [9] X Research source
When you are off of work for the day, disconnect completely. Try not to think about pending projects, check your work email, or talk too much about work with family and friends.
During this period, if you feel the urge to procrastinate, remind yourself “I need to get this done,” and make yourself do work instead of turning to distractions.
If you feel yourself getting tired or worn out because of work, stop and rest. If you try to work when you are exhausted, you risk doing less than your best. Not only can this be discouraging, it can make more work for you to do later when you have to correct something or do it over again. Just make sure you aren’t procrastinating, and that you have a clear plan of when and how to pick up with your task after you rest. If you work in or study a creative field, procrastination can be a way of dealing with pressures of criticism and/or creative block. If this is the case, resolve yourself to worry about perfecting a project later in the work process. That way, you can get started, make progress, be encouraged, and improve your work later. If you work in or study a creative field, you might also benefit from setting two deadlines—one to get a first “draft” of a project, and a second to revise and improve the project. It can also be beneficial to give yourself time between these two deadlines to take a break and refresh your perspective.
