The new year brings hopes and dreams for the future. You've made your resolutions - to lose weight, exercise, plan a dream vacation, for example.
Don't forget, however, that you also spend one-third of your day at work. You can improve your on-the-job enjoyment and your productivity by making the following work resolutions.
Learn new skills
To keep your career moving forward and prevent burnout, learn some new skills. Investigate which ones you'll need for a promotion or for your dream job, then make sure you acquire them. Make a resolution to always be learning something new.
Keep organized
Most people don't function well in the midst of chaos. The clutter on your desk is likely distracts you and muddles your thinking. If your office is disorganized, the time you spend getting organized will be paid back in less stress and increased productivity.
Make a resolution to spend the last 15 minutes of every day cleaning your desk and getting organized for the next day.
Take daily breaks
Human beings aren't built to sit at desk for hours at a stretch -- that's why the coffee break was invented. But, there are better ways to use your breaks -- quick, simple techniques that rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit so you can return to work refreshed and ready to accomplish great things.
The following energizing breaks take less than two minutes: Count down from 10 to one, taking a deep breath with each number. Read affirmations, inspiring quotes or poetry. Read a couple of pages of a book. Put your hands over your eyes and visualize a favorite vacation spot. Gaze out a window. Listen to your favorite music. Stand up and stretch your muscles. Doodle. Drink a full glass of water. Eat a healthy snack. Take a short walk.
Structure your time
Are you wasting time taking care of things that just aren't important? If so, you'll be frustrated when you fritter away your work-days doing things your boss would consider insignificant.
The solution is to block off one or two hours of quiet time each day that you spend focusing on your important tasks. Since most people concentrate best in the morning, choose your quiet time early in the day. Then transfer your calls to your voice mail and put a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door.
Make a resolution to set aside quiet time every day to work on your important projects.
Keep an accomplishment journal
Buy a separate notebook for an Accomplishment Journal. At the end of the day, write the date on a new page and write something that you accomplished. It doesn't have to be something major. Even little steps of progress need to be acknowledged.
For example: "I dealt with Mr. Jones, a difficult customer, in a very kind and professional way." "I wrote two pages of a special report."
Writing such a journal increases your enthusiasm as you look for things to accomplish and write in your journal. Your focus will be on what you did instead of what you didn't do. Keeping the journal will also give you more confidence during employee reviews or when asking for a promotion.
One last thought: When you follow through on your work resolutions and make them daily habits, you'll experience increased productivity, more energy and enthusiasm and the joy of accomplishment.
Leadership opportunities at work can crop up unexpectedly. They're unpredictable and sometimes blend in with the surroundings so they can easily get overlooked.
"Leadership isn't a position, it's a way of being. It's about seeing what isn't there and making it happen," says Roxanne Emmerich, C.S.P., C.M.S., author of "Thank Good It's Monday: How to Build at Motivating Workplace."
Ms. Emmerich offers the following suggestions on how to make the most of your leadership opportunities.
Do the extraordinary
To be a leader often means to have extraordinary thoughts and to do extraordinary things. The word "extraordinary" is a combination of two words that mean "more than the ordinary." Ordinary employees follow directions, do what they're told to do and put in a good day's work. They have the mind-set of, "This is the way we've always done it, so this is the way I'll keep doing it."
"Every one of us really wants to be extraordinary," says Ms. Emmerich. "The problem is we surround ourselves with excuses for mediocrity, and we begin to believe it's the way to be."
Look for problems to solve
The employees who wants to create leadership opportunities actually looks for problems to solve -- whether the problems are task-related or about office morale. When you work with the mind-set of making improvements, you're thinking like a leader.
You may have ideas that will make your work more efficient. When you take those ideas and ask for permission to implement them, you're creating your own leadership opportunity -- and an opportunity to be noticed for your innovative ideas.
Give 100 percent
As an employee, you can take advantage of an often overlooked leadership opportunity: giving 100 percent effort to your work. Act as if you were stranded in the ocean and your one thought was to save yourself by getting to shore.
Ordinary employees may give 70 percent or even 80 percent effort, but leaders consistently go the extra mile and give 100 percent on the job.
Have a vision
Finding leadership opportunities requires a vision. Just like the architect who designs a superior building, you can design superior ways to do your ordinary work.
Each person needs to know his or her vision of what superior looks like. Without a clear vision, results are limited, says Ms. Emerich. "By having a vision, every employee at work has the opportunity to be a leader."
Improve relationships
Every employee can be a leader by improving employee relationships.
When you avoid gossip, sarcasm and negative comments, and substitute encouragement, appreciation and cheery greetings, you're making the most of a leadership opportunity. You'll be a role model to others, and you'll be rewarded with the trust of your coworkers.
The truth is, no matter what your position, you can act like a leader.
"When you seek solutions to problems, encourage positive workplace relationships and do extraordinary work, you're making the most of leadership opportunities," Ms. Emmerich says. "You'll be noticed for your efforts, and you may even be considered for a leadership position. Best of all, though, you'll be happier and more fulfilled at work."
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