There is no doubt that running a business includes a certain level of stress. Keeping customers happy, workers happy, a positive cash flow, all the while trying to expand the business, are challenging on any given day. Did you know that your daily work habits can influence the amount of success you have in your business?
We know that increased levels of stress can produce unhealthy work habits. So, lowering workplace stress by incorporating solid, productive work habits, is vital to the financial health and success of your business. Here are three tips to help leaders practice productive work habits in their businesses. Such work habits not only allow you to enjoy your work experience, they also help you be more successful.
Communicate regularly with your clients.
Make it a habit to talk regularly to your clients. Establish a process in which you can communicate either by email, social media, or snail mail on a systematic basis. It is a known fact that circling back to previous clients often results in new sales. These clients have already established a relationship with you, so contacting them and checking in to see how things are going can produce increased revenue. Keep your clients informed of any new services, products or updates that are available. Send information about issues in your industry that could be valuable for your clients to know.
Sharing honest, clearly communicated information allows your clients to maintain a relationship with you and feel that you care about their wellbeing. Our suggestion is that you communicate with your client base at least once per quarter. Establishing a system such as sending a newsletter, posting in social media, or using your Customer Relations Management (CRM) program to initiate an email to your client list will provide a profitable return on the time investment. This is one work habit that should never be ignored by any small business owner. Your clients need to know you appreciate them and celebrate their successes.
Share the decision-making process
There are many decisions that leaders make daily. Allowing your team to participate in decisions is a positive leadership strategy for garnering trust and respect. Establish a work habit where you check in first thing each morning and have a laser meeting where progress on projects and work assignments can be shared. If there is a need to decide on modifications, this quick meeting would be the time and place to make them. The meeting can be a 10-15-minute scrum where everyone remains standing and quick updates are shared. Keep it brief. Your team members are likely to show more motivation and work with more attentiveness, when they know that their opinions and suggestions have been incorporated into their work output.
Practice mindfulness at work
Practicing mindfulness at work should be a daily habit. To be most effective, you need to be present. Mindfulness means being in the moment, so the best way to maintain such focus is to eliminate distractions. Focus on your current task or your current conversation. You know how it feels when someone treats you as one of his or her multi-tasks. Every day we’re bombarded with distractions that hamper productivity, diminish effectiveness and threaten our focus on things and conversations that really matter. Make it a habit to set specific hours in which you will engage with social media, check you email, and manage your favorite apps.
Ban phones from important business meetings. This alone can foster more meaningful interactions and idea sharing. Unless there is an urgent need to have a device, insist that participants step away from their phones for the length of the meeting. This helps everyone be present and practice mindfulness.
Progressive organizations like Google, General Mills and Goldman Sachs have discovered the power of mindfulness and its effect on productivity, not to mention their bottom lines. The countless benefits, which have been documented, include greater innovation and teamwork, staff stress reduction and health care savings.
Present-moment awareness involves monitoring and attending to current experience rather than predicting future events or dwelling on the past. Your business is reflected through your work habits. The more you communicate regularly with your clients, include team members in steering the organization and stay present in your daily operations, the more productive and profitable your business will become.
Setting daily work habits builds a business with solid operating procedures. We offer a 4-week online program that teaches these skills including building a system for setting purposeful goals, focusing your time on high-payoff activities, breaking down projects into sequential steps and developing a 90-day work cycle that keeps you moving forward. Check out our GET THINGS DONE THAT MATTER and start building a more profitable business taking less of your time. We offer this course several times per year. Check for our next scheduled course offering. You’re worth the investment.
