Getting Back to a Proactive State of Mind

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Getting Back to a Proactive State of Mind

            With the drastic change in workspace for a lot of people who are now working from home, one of the big worries has become trying to stay motivated and proactive. With being at home, having the same drive and want to work has become a difficult task for some people. Having all the temptations and comfort of home can be a big distraction for most. With this, there has been many people who have lost their drive to be proactive and have become more reactive than before. With having the same tasks as before, how can a person stay in line and continue to look forward at the future tasks by staying proactive? While some companies have reported an increase in productivity, a lot of this comes from people working on current projects. We need to get people prepared to think about and tackle the upcoming projects.

Do not cram to get things done

            Planning and working ahead is one of the first key ideas in being proactive with your work. Try to formulate a plan and get things done ahead of time so you can have more time to focus more on future tasks. Try creating a to-do list to try and keep track of the things that you must get done to avoid last minute projects. Make sure to keep the same pace of completing work that you would if you were still at the office. Do this to avoid cramming at the end of the due date.

Get ready as you normally would

            When working from home, it is easy to fall into the trap of staying in your pajamas or more casual clothes for the entirety of the day. A good tip is to try and get up and get yourself ready just like you would if you were going into the office. Try to trick your body to think that it is going into the office forcing it to wake itself up.

Pick the right space in the house for work

Making sure that you have the ideal space to work is key to getting things done and keeping yourself focused. If you can, try sitting at a desk or table to give yourself the same feeling as you would working on your computer at work.

Respond to all forms of communication quickly and efficiently

            Being at home and possibly being more relaxed can cause your communication outside of video and voice conferences to lack. This lack of communication can end up causing confusion for everyone involved. Make sure you can receive and accept all forms of communication. This is especially important since there are now limited times to exchange ideas and topics informally and to try and collaborate in an informal setting. Also, responding efficiently is important since there is a lack of body language which would be able to help carry on a conversation and tell you how the others feel about your ideas.

How does being proactive help you and your company?

            So, what are all the benefits of being proactive? While there are a lot, we are going to be focusing on the benefits of being proactive when it comes to you and your company.

Creates confidence

            Being proactive and getting things done can have more benefits than just lightening the workload for yourself. It can also be a good confidence booster for you and your employees when you manage to get things done efficiently. It can also boost your customers confidence in you as well if you manage to efficiently complete their tasks which can result in them continuing business with you and possibly recommending you to others.

Reduces cost

            Being reactive in the wrong situation can be stressful for manager as well as the employees involved in a company. Constantly trying to rush and play catchup could potentially cost the company more money than needed. Being behind could potentially cause the company to potentially pay for more assets than necessary like workers working longer hours than necessary and customer support if the project is not yet finished.

Can help you in planning for the future

            Having all of your tasks finished early is not only a stress reliever, it gives you and your business time and flexibility to create a plan for future endeavors. With this shift in how people work, having a plan for trying to take charge of future tasks is going to be an important point. Being proactive and being ahead of the game allows for your company to start thinking for this shift and try to be one of the first to tackle these new future tasks.

            With this shift in how people are working, it is no wonder that people are starting to become more relaxed and may even start to become lackluster in their work. These suggestions above is not only to help manage your workload, but to also help you to get back to working like you used to. This change has caused many people to not work as if they were a full employee and these suggestions can hopefully help you take charge of your work life again. The road ahead is unknown, and we are reaching the point where companies are going to start new projects.

How can a company take on new projects and new ideas unless its employees can communicate over and above “on-line meetings”?  So much interaction, collaboration and ideas take place when spur of the moment talks take place - like that prior to COVID - when one can walk down the office corridor and exchange ideas in an unscheduled spur-of-the-moment meeting.

Think of it with this analogy.  An ocean freighter full of products traveling through the ocean needs a good deal of time and distance to change course.  Businesses should be concerned that it will take a good deal of time and energy for them to start new projects during this unprecedented time.

Sources:

https://www.thriveyard.com/25-tips-on-how-to-be-proactive-at-work/

https://www.planbox.com/the-advantages-of-being-proactive/

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