We all know that setting self-improvement goals in January is arbitrary. Nothing magical happens when the calendar turns to the new year. However, the idea that you can change habits or improve your condition is appealing. That’s why about 40% of people still make resolutions in January, even though only 9% actually make the change they promised.
If you’re like me and like to use the new year as a time to think about ways to improve your life both at work and outside of work, here are eight ways to do just that:
Increase your focus
There are so many things we have to deal with. If you’ve felt like your focus has waned in the past few years, it probably has.
According to researchers, in 2003, our attention span was around 2.5 minutes in total, which may seem like an eternity to you, because between 2016 and 2019, it dropped to about 47 seconds.
Try this trick to improve your focus at work: Set a timer for 20 minutes, turn off all notifications, and listen to classical music. The timer will prevent you from moving on. Music is a proven benefit of focus for many people, not only to drown out background noises, but also to mask the silence that can make your mind wander more.
Why classical music? Music with lyrics is more distracting and makes you sing along. A study conducted at Stanford University School of Medicine found that listening to classical music engages areas of the brain involved in attention, making predictions and forming memories.
Get rid of imposter syndrome
Imposter syndrome, the feeling that you are an impostor and secretly unfit for your position, is so common that some experts estimate that about 80% of people experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. So basically everyone.
If you feel like you’re not good enough, it’s helpful to have written evidence of all the times people say you are. Keeping a “compliment file” is a tried and true career tip that’s useful in a variety of situations, but especially useful for dealing with impostor syndrome. Create a testimonial file on your computer desktop and collect what colleagues, managers and clients have to say about you and your work. Then if you’re having a bad day or doubting yourself, open it and remind yourself how great you are.
Be less negative
The human brain is hardwired to prioritize negative experiences as a matter of survival. This explains why we often remember and dwell more on insults than compliments, or dwell more on unpleasant or traumatic events than pleasant ones. In fact, our brain’s negativity bias is so strong that even if a bunch of good things happen in a day, your brain will focus on one bad thing.
If you want to focus a little less on the negative, here’s what author Shawn Casemore did when he changed his mindset from pessimism to optimism:
- Turn concern about risks into a positive question. “What’s the worst that could happen?” “What are the best possible outcomes?”
- Share your optimistic opinion with others. “When we repeat things out loud, we override the little green negative person on our shoulder whispering negative thoughts into our ear,” she says.
- Surround yourself with optimistic people and news. She also suggests challenging negative comments and opinions when you encounter them.
Get paid more
When you start a new job, you have the most opportunity to ask for more money because if they offer you a role, you know they want you. But if you’ve done a great job, you also have leverage, because even in a tight economy, the cost of replacing a good employee is more than giving someone a raise. So know that you are probably coming from a strong place.
The next step is to approach the conversation as a collaboration instead of a power struggle. “I’d like to understand what the opportunity is to approach this salary” or “What flexibility is there in the salary range for this role?” try expressions like
These phrases open up the conversation rather than closing it with a simple yes or no.
If you get a no, try to set expectations for getting a yes by agreeing to criteria that you can achieve and revisit in three to six months.
Be happier
This is the biggest decision because if you’re happy, the rest is just gravy. But it’s also the foggiest. There’s no magic answer to finding happiness, but one way to start being happier is to let go of regrets and be kinder to yourself.
Thinking about the wrong or wrong choice is a sure way to develop unhappiness. The book’s author, Dinorah Nieves, says that regret can become a habit Love You: 12 Ways to Love Who You Are and Who You Are. But you can reduce regret, she says, “if you can look at and learn from the decisions you made, why you made them, and treat yourself with compassion.”
You can also reframe things by treating yourself the same way you treat a friend or colleague who comes to you with a problem. We often speak harsher and more judgmental to ourselves than we do to others.
Get a promotion
There are many variables that go into getting a presentation, such as time and budget. So make sure you start the conversation at the right time. When deciding when is the best time to ask, keep a few things in mind:
Prepare a clear and convincing case. Yes, you want a promotion because you want more money and a better title, and it’s good for your career—these reasons are implied. Don’t tell them. Instead, frame the title change as how it reflects what you’ve already done. This means you are working above your job description. You don’t get promoted for being good at your current job, you get promoted for exceeding expectations. After reminding your boss of what you already do, you should explain how you will further help the company in the new role. Frame it as a win-win for everyone.
But whatever you do, don’t use it as a bargaining chip; if you say you’re leaving if you don’t get promoted, at best they’ll ruin your relationship with your manager, and at worst they’ll call your bluff.
Sleep more
Rush culture may have glorified running on a few hours of sleep, but if you feel tired all the time or have trouble falling asleep, you know that sleep deprivation makes things worse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked sleep deprivation to health problems such as heart disease, obesity and depression.
If you struggle to fall asleep at a decent hour, sleep expert Michael Breus recommends a step-by-step process to help you fall asleep at the same time every night. The 20-minute stages help calm you down rather than waiting for your body to switch from “on” to “off” immediately. She recommends spending 20 minutes completing last-minute tasks for the next day (packing lunch, making your schedule, putting away your laundry), 20 minutes on a nighttime hygiene routine, and then 20 minutes on a relaxing, mindful activity like meditation or mental activity. to read
Improve your memory
If you want to remember the important events that happened this year, the simplest way is to write it down by hand. A number of scientific studies have shown that taking notes on a laptop is not as effective as writing notes by hand for retaining information. Part of the reason is that you need to slow down to focus when writing by hand, but there are two other ways that writing things down will help your memory.
In the workplace: If you take notes manually in a meeting, you’re likely to listen more closely to what’s being said. Since you can’t type as fast as you type, you’ll have to use some form of shorthand, meaning that when you read your notes later, you’ll have clues to remember the conversation and fill in the blanks.
Outside of work: Try the One Line a Day journaling method as part of your end-of-day relaxation. The idea is similar; you don’t write a whole page or even a whole paragraph—just a sentence or two about what happened that day. When you celebrate your day in this way, these small everyday details can be enough to revive the memory of otherwise forgotten days.