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Your job is a huge part of your life – but it doesn’t mean it should rule your life!
We’ve come up with our top 10 tips to help you work smarter, inject more balance into your life and get the recognition that you derserve!
1: Ergonomics
Ergonomics is about having a work environment that works with, not against, your body’s natural curves. Being hunched over a desk all day isn’t what the human body is designed to do. If you spend most of your week in front of a computer (as so many of us to do) you will probably experience back and neck pain, headaches and body tension. This can lead to more serious things the longer it goes on, and nothing is worth being a quazi-modo!  2: Take breaks
Sometimes our days can be so crazy that we can’t possibly fit in a break, and actually forget to take one. This is a big no no. Without sustenance you will make more mistakes and be less alert on whatever you are working on. It’s really not great for your eyes to stare at a computer screen for hours on end either. If you’re having a super busy day just take five minutes every hour to grab a snack, a drink and rest your eyes. You can even try multitasking with derskercises - click here to find out more!
3: Be confident
Are you the type of person who just can’t say no? Well chances are everyone in the office knows it, and that’s why you have so much worked lumped on you by others everyday. It's one thing to help out a colleague every so often, but if it is becoming a regular thing, it's not right and it needs to stop. You aren’t being nice, you are being taken advantage of. To break this cycle you might feel a little bit of backlash but you are putting things right so feel proud!
 4: Turn off your email for an hour each dayEmails can be SO distracting and you would be surprised how much you can get through when you’re not being interrupted every time a new email pops into your inbox (because you almost always read it don’t you?!). Nothing will be that urgent that it can’t wait for an hour, what if you were in training, a meeting or out for lunch? 5: Tidy work environment!
OK, so some may argue this one, but having a tidy/organised work environment is very important if you want to work efficiently and effectively. How do you know that you haven’t forgotten to do anything/call anyone back when you have hundreds of post-its lying around? Get some trays, and organise some labels for your folders!  6: Save personal calls/emails for break timeSure, this sounds a bit control-freakish, and I am all for freedom in the work environment, but really, you are paid to be there and it is unprofessional to spend your time at work just chatting to friends. So many companies have their IT department watching everyone’s emails for personal use, so if you do get pulled up about it, you can say that it was during your morning/lunch/afternoon tea break. 7: Have a to do list
Not to mention it helps you get out the door at a normal time most nights (because you know you won’t forget to do everything you need to) it is also great at assisting with prioritising. Most jobs today require you to juggle multiple tasks at once, and the best way to make sure you don’t forget to do something really important is to have a list! It is also a great tool to assist you with work satisfaction because when you complete things, you can mark it off the list! It is a great visual tool to show you that you are getting through what needs to be done.  8: Don’t let work rule your life To be balanced and maintain good relationships with your friends, family and partner you need to not always be late to dinners because you were putting in extra time. Turn off your work phone at night, and don’t turn it on till a respectful time in the morning. Don’t take work home every single night and DON’T go in on the weekend. Sure, having a successful career is a great ambition to have, but think about the ‘on my death bed’ analogy.
When you are laying on your death bed telling your grandchildren about your life, how cool will you feel telling them most of your life was spent in the office? You’re unlikely to get many ‘wows!’…  9: Finish early, start early
Every so often overtime is required. But it is probably better to go home on time at night, and arrive bright eyed and bushy-tailed early the next morning before everyone else gets in and before the phone starts ringing. You’d be surprised how productive you can be without all your work colleagues around to gossip with and you can run your day in a pro-active (prepared with information/answers/calling people with results etc) rather than re-active (having people phoning and chasing you for things) way!
10: Communicate! Managers are there for a reason; they are there to manage you and help you out! If you don’t feel like you can approach them, maybe there is someone above their position that you can get advice from. The bottom line is if something is bothering you - you feel over-worked/undervalued, concerned about a colleague etc…communicate it to someone who can instigate some changes. Most of the time management is grateful you haven’t just handed in your notice, but if they tell you to stick it, maybe it is time for a change?!
Erin Boyle
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