Are You Bringing Your “A Game” to Work? by Cindy Stradling CSP, CPC
Leadership can be exhausting. You’re putting in long days, and challenging your brain every minute. Though you may feel as though you can never take a break, it’s important to examine if you’ve let those long challenging days get in the way of really doing your best. Are you still coming to work every day with your “A game”?
We all like to think so, but it’s easy to get a little complacent, especially when you’re exhausted. So, it’s wise to take a little time to relax and reflect on your recent performance. Some signs you may not be putting in your best effort include:
- Taking longer than usual to complete tasks
- Avoiding making decisions
- Working longer hours but accomplishing less
- Forgetting “must do” tasks or appointments
If you find yourself having any of these problems, you probably aren’t giving your best at work each day. There can be many reasons for this, including personal problems getting in the way, burn out or exhaustion. Whatever the cause, it’s critical to get back to your usual productivity before your business suffers.
Take a Break
When you are exhausted or have personal issues that need attention, you can’t bring your “A game” to work until these are resolved. You’ll waste far less time by taking a little time away from work to recharge or handle personal issues than by working at half capacity because of distractions. A weekend trip out of town may be just what the doctor ordered for mental exhaustion and burnout.
List Your Priorities
As you head back to work, give your productivity a boost by listing your most important priorities for the day or the week. This is a good habit to have all of the time, but is especially important if you’ve been letting things slip. Prioritizing helps you to get the most important things out of the way, so business keeps humming and you breathe a sigh of relief. Remember to delegate, too. You don’t have to do all the work yourself.
Challenge Yourself
As you begin to make it over the hump, challenge yourself to continue to focus on being your best. Continue to list things you want to accomplish, and reward yourself as these items get checked off the list. Remembering to celebrate your success helps motivate you to keep going. With a little attention, you’ll find yourself giving your best every single day.