Ways To Improve Your Work Ethic

It's so strange how things work: You strive for the job at hand, you give it everything you got in the first few months and then something happens, and your motivation to find ways to improve your work ethic just slowly wanes, like a bunch of puppies sliding down a hill. You don't know where this feeling is coming from, but maybe you are feeling burnt out or maybe you aren't feeling motivated anymore. Either way, something is not right and it's time to make some changes.

Obviously your job is important to you and you want to continue to produce good work, but if you feel your work ethic isn't as strong as it could be, then there has to be a way to change it. The only person you should be competing with is yourself; you are your own motivator, and while your friends and family will always be there for you to help you out or to encourage you when you are down, you are the only one that is truly in charge of your own destiny. If you have been thinking on how you could elevate your work habits, then you have come to the right place. There are multiple ways you can pump yourself up to really get the ball rolling, but here are six surefire ways to get a headstart in upping your work ethic. So get out your pen and paper (or laptop, whatever) and see how you can be the Beyoncé of your work palace.

1. Start Your Day Our Strong

Starting out strong in the morning will give the rest of your day a strong lead. For some that might mean having a great breakfast and/or working out. Whatever you need to do to wake yourself up and to get the day going, it will help maintain the way you feel about work and your responsibilities that you have to complete. If you feel better about yourself, you might feel better about the work that you are producing and it will enhance your work ethic in the long run.

Steve Pavlina, author of Personal Development for Smart People, said on his blog to, "Start each day with a strong morning, and the rest of the day will tend to follow. Move with power and purpose during that first hour. Own your mornings. Then maintain this attitude of mastery over your time as far into each day as possible."

2. Get To Work On Time

OK, this may sound silly, but sometimes it's definitely something people struggle with. Whether it's that traffic or their beauty regime takes longer than it should, there's always someone that always seems to be walking into the office five or 10 minutes late every day. Maybe this is you, maybe it isn't. The fact of the matter is that when you are late and stressing out because you are late, it really rocks the rest of your day. If you are more punctual with your time, you will be more punctual with your work and those deadlines will mean nothing to do because you are finishing them early like a boss.

3. Set A Standard For Yourself

Sometimes we are our own worst critics. Instead of letting things to get our heads, why not just set a standard of excellence for ourselves? It may be hard not to follow a lazy coworkers lead, but don't be influenced by others if you know you can do better. I know that I am a hard worker, and when I complete the goals that I have set up, I feel better about myself and strong about how I work. For you to produce good work, you have to hold yourself to a higher standard; no one else is going to do that for you. Remember you are your own #GIRLBOSS. It's a great way to motivate yourself and possibly your coworkers as well.

4. Don't Let The Mistakes Trip You Up

It's natural that one can mess up on their work. Your boss might have given you constructive criticism on a project you completed, or maybe you didn't get the praise you were hoping for. Either way, don't let the little negatives of your work day push on how you truly feel about your work ethic. If you feel a situation is really bothering you, try to turn it into a positive.

According to Scott W. Ventrella, author of The Power of Positive Thinking In Business, "These so-called "little negatives" clutter up the average person's conversation, and while each one is seemingly unimportant in itself, the total effect of these attitudes is to condition the mind negatively." Ultimately, we don't want these little negatives to get in the way of our work. They are merely a distraction and will only hurt your performance if you continue to think about them.

5. Be Dedicated

This will have to be one of the most important ones. If you are dependable and dedicated to your work and your co-workers, they will feel that they can go to you with any work issue. According to Jacqueline Whitmore who is a business etiquette expert in an Entrepreneur article, "You aim for "outstanding" in everything you do. You put in the extra hours to get things right, giving attention to detail and devotion to excellence." To be dedicated simply means that you are a hard worker and you understand what you need to do to get the job done right.

6. Have The Right Mentality

You won't get anywhere in the world by cutting corners. You have to change your mentality. For me personally, I saw the corporate world a little differently when I read Jimmy Fallon's interview with Billboard Magazine (it sounds silly, but bare with me). There was one line that he said that really turned things around for me in terms of my perspective on work.

While talking about how Justin Bieber cancelled a skit last minute and this is how he dealt with it Fallon said, "...He’s here to sing, so as long as he’s comfortable and it sounds good then we did our job. And if I talk to him and make him funny and make him look good, that’s my job. That’s all I have to do.” The way Jimmy's mentality dealt with the day of cancellation really made me realize that in the corporate world, everything is not going to go smoothly and it really depends on how to pick up the broken pieces that will make you a stronger work and individual.

When it comes to work, it can be hard to not let the everyday stress bottle up inside of you. Try to have a positive mind about the work you want to produce and always set goals for yourself. You are the conductor of your train and if you love what you are doing, everything will work out in the end. Just try to make yourself proud — it's really the best medicine.

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