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How to get your 'A' game on at work

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The New Year kicked off on a high note and now you are back at your desk – not yet all bright eyed and bushy tailed.

So what can you do to get going? Here are some steps to consider from Auguste Coetzer, who is director of executive search at TALENT AFRICA.

1) The good: Start with all the positives about your performance last year. Build on these successes and set new targets to improve on your successes. Ask the question: Yes I did this well, but what could I have done differently or better? “Smugness gets you nowhere,” says Coetzer.

2) The bad: The flip side of the coin is to be brutally honest with yourself and ask yourself questions about your failures. “The worst you can do is to sweep them under the carpet and to hope they will simply go away,” says Coetzer. He also suggested that to improve your performance at work, think about speaking to your manager and don't hesitate to speak to confidants in the workplace. One’s “buddy” could be sourced for some ideas.

3) Tie up loose ends: Also revisit the things you simply did not do last year. “Clear the deck even if it’s a mundane task.” Coetzer notes that procrastination will remain a heavy millstone around your neck.

4) Time management: What do you spend your time on? There is always a tug of war between the urgent and the important. Are you spending too much time on strategy or too much time on meetings and planning rather than implementing? “Success is only achieved by implementing”, says Coetzer.

5) Clear your mind: What state are you in are mentally? “We all just think of cleaning up our physical environment, but what about that which is clogging up your ability to think ‘straight’?” You need to de-clutter your mind in order to take control of yourself, advises Coetzer.


Also read:

Beat the back-to-work blues
Getting office employees up and moving
10 back-to-school-checks

Image: A group of happy workers from Shutterstock.

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