As a home worker, chances are you’re too busy running your business or trying to hit deadline AND do the school run to dedicate much time to personal development. Although many people turn to home working to reduce work stress, it certainly doesn’t eliminate it completely! If you want to be more focused and resilient, to be able to handle all kinds of challenges in a level-headed manner, you need to be in control of your own destiny. It’s never too late to get started on the self-improvement process and work on personal growth. You just need to have the right motivation and resolve.
These free personal development tests are a good place to start – they will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses in areas including time management and even likeability! One you know what you need to work on, a few small changes in your daily routine can make all the difference. Try these for starters…
1. Sleep Well and Wake Up Early
Research suggests that people need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per day to remain healthy and productive. Unfortunately, most people only manage 4 to 6 hours and that can affect their health and productivity. Lack of sleep also makes it very difficult to wake up in the morning because the sleep deficit makes the body crave more sleep to compensate.
If you maintain a regular sleep schedule and go to bed early at night, you’ll have an easier time waking up early in the morning. That gives you more time to incorporate new habits and tasks into your daily schedule.
2. Plan Your Day
Planning and organisation is a great way to meet all your goals and make room for new habits and tasks. Daily planning doesn’t require a lot of effort. You just need to spend a few minutes at the end of your day to plan for the next. Organise your day according to priorities and complete the most difficult tasks first. This will help you get through the day better and allow you to schedule your personal development tasks and plans accordingly. When you create a plan, try to stick to it as much as you can.
3. Don’t be Afraid to Step Outside Your Comfort Zone
Personal development involves challenging yourself and pushing your abilities. For example, if you have a fear of public speaking or socialising, you should step out and try to socialise more and participate in public speaking events. This will have a positive impact on your personal and professional life as you’ll be more confident and willing to speak at networking events. Every step you take in personal development requires a little commitment and time, but it offers rich rewards in the long-run.
4. Learn Meditation and Be Active
Many people don’t believe that meditation is actually effective and not a waste of time. The practice has been around for thousands of years and its effects have been noticed and documented by many researchers. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen, singer Sheryl Crow and film director Martin Scorcese are amongst the highly successful celebrities who meditate.
Meditation is very easy and doesn’t require much time. You can spend 10 minutes at the start and end of every day to centre yourself and calm your mind for a few brief moments. Meditation will help you feel rejuvenated and energised.
Similarly, if you exercise every morning, you’ll feel energised and accomplished. The rush from exercise will give you the motivation and determination you need to move through your day in an enthusiastic and energetic manner.
6. Challenge Yourself
It isn’t easy to stay on track when you want to learn new skills. If your professional life gets a little too busy, you may be tempted to stop learning and let your personal development slip. The best way around this is to challenge yourself for a limited period of time. For example, you can challenge yourself to finish a new book in a week or learn the basics of a new language in 30 days. That way, you’ll ‘trick yourself’ into staying on track, ensuring you reach your goals.
With daily habits, you take small and manageable steps towards personal development. These changes will have a significant impact on your professional, personal, and social life. You’ll have more confidence and will be more productive. Personal development is a lifelong process – and the end goal isn’t perfection, it’s to be a better-rounded and, above all, happier human being. Isn’t that the most important thing of all?
Ashley Andrews is an Inbound Marketing Strategist at Activia Training, a UK-based training provider specialising in improving delegates’ workplace performance in business skills, management development and IT applications. Ashley is passionate about personal development, and regularly blogs about this – and many other topics – on the Activia blog.