Your Workplace Habits Need a Good Spring Cleaning, Too. Here Are 5 Steps to Get Started.

When was the last time you did a good spring cleaning on some of your unhelpful repetitive behaviors at work?

By: Kristel Bauer

Kristel’s article was originally published on Entrepreneur.com on December 24, 2022. You can view that here.

While you may associate spring cleaning with pulling out the dusters and getting rid of clothes that haven't seen the light of day since pre-pandemic days, springtime is a wonderful invitation to let go of the old to make space for the new in all areas of your life. An often-neglected area that may benefit from some airing out includes your workplace habits. When was the last time you did a good spring cleaning on some of your unhelpful repetitive behaviors at work? Here are five ways to help you get started with your workplace habits deep clean!

1. Build awareness

This may surprise you, but you probably aren't even aware of many of your workplace habits. Whether it's slouching over your computer until you have neck pain or mindlessly scrolling through social media, many behaviors are done on autopilot. To let go of what isn't working so you can make space for new possibilities, you first need to become aware of what is holding you back. You need to become aware of your thoughtless habits and repetitive behaviors.

So, how can you do this? One great way to start is to get curious. Notice how you feel at different times of the day. Pay attention to where you are spending your time and whether those activities drain you or fuel you. When do you feel your best? When do you feel your worst? Are there parts of the workday you dread? Incorporating mindfulness practices where you bring your focus and attention to the present moment is another thing that can help you in building awareness.

2. Try a new approach

Once you have awareness about a habit that isn't serving you, you can choose to take another approach. Maybe you noticed that you feel stressed when you check your phone, social media or emails throughout the day. To try something new, you could decide to keep your phone in a different area during work and have more structure around when you check your accounts. The trick here is to try some new methods to see what works. If you want to have a new outcome, you need to change something!

3. Set new goals for yourself

What is an area that you would like to improve in? Take some time to reflect on where you are at in your professional life, and think about where you would like to see yourself down the road. How can you set small approachable goals to move you in that direction? What is something that you can do today to start building momentum?

4. Have checkpoints throughout your day

Once you have clarity on the habits that you are looking to let go of and you are clear on some new behaviors and goals that you are looking to embrace, it is important to have reminders throughout your day to keep you on track. It could be helpful to check in with yourself at the same time every day or to put reminders on your phone to help you get back on track if you have veered off course.

5. Gain support from your community

Let your colleagues, friends and family know about the goals that you have for yourself and the new behaviors you are looking to create. Ask for their support to help keep you motivated. You may even inspire them to make some positive changes in their life!

Now that you have a roadmap to help you spring-clean your workplace habits, aim to turn this into a regular occurrence so that you can continue to learn, grow and show up as the best version of yourself at work and in life.

Disclaimer: This content purely represents the opinion of the author and is not medical advice or treatment recommendations. Always talk to your healthcare provider about recommendations specific to you.