Bad habits might seem like minor nuisances in our lives, but they can be at the root of what is holding you back – both personally and professionally. By taking control of your habits, overcoming the bad ones, and creating new, better ones to replace them, you are doing more for your professional growth than you might believe. Here are some of the bad habits that might be holding you back at work.
1. Procrastination
Nothing slows down your job growth like procrastination. It can be especially tempting to take your foot off the gas in terms of job searches or networking, but that consistent dedication and proactive effort will help your career stay on track long term. Rather than procrastinate and say you’ll get to it tomorrow, remember that today is a day you will never get back. Check yourself whenever you find yourself your mind wandering when you should be diving into a task. There really is no better time than the present to tackle those to do list items. Remember that everything worth doing is worth doing today.
2. Letting Your Social Media Presence Slide
Few things can kill your job prospects, like a wild or unprofessional social media presence. When you are on the hunt for a new job, your social media profiles are just as important as your resume. Make sure you clean up your accounts, update your information, post a professional-looking photo of yourself, and use your profile as an easy way to meet new employers and make new connections. LinkedIn is critical to your job search, but don’t forget to take a second look at your other non-anonymous accounts like Twitter or Facebook. Chances are that an employer will Google your name to see what comes up in the search. At the very least, you should be prepared to address what they find in an interview. At best, you can curate their experience and show them what an amazing person you are to work with.
3. Bad Morale
There are times when productivity naturally drops due to difficulties on a project, high turn-over rates, or a general feeling of unhappiness within a group. These influencing factors can really make work difficult and tend to feed off each other. Often, one single employee’s dissatisfaction can have a negative impact on the team as a whole. Make sure you are not part of the problem. A positive outlook even through tough times is what employers need from their best team members. So don’t let a bad attitude become a bad habit.
4. Not Enforcing Your Boundaries
Boundaries are an important tool to bolster your professional success. Knowing when you are at capacity and saying no to requests that push you beyond that limit is a skill. It takes practice to maintain that skill, and allowing others to ignore or disregard those boundaries is a habit that can lead to professional burnout and frustration pretty quickly.
5. Getting sucked into office politics
Office gossip and playing politics can cause more harm than good when it comes to your career success. So avoid letting it become a bad habit. This is a tried and true way to damage office relationships and irritate your coworkers. Your professional reputation relies heavily on how you navigate complex interactions with coworkers, so don’t fall into the trap of politicking your way through the day.
For more advice on how to avoid letting bad habits drive your career trajectory, connect with the team at ESGI today.
