We all make mistakes, it’s what makes us human after all. However, too many mistakes and that can end up negatively impacting what we’re trying to achieve. Whether that might be something personal in your life or in regards to your career and work life.
Mistakes should be seen as an opportunity to learn from, but if you’re wanting to make fewer, then here’s how you can make less of them in your career moving forward.
Get Yourself Organized.
Firstly, mistakes are reduced significantly, if there’s a lot of planning and organization done. On a daily basis within your work life (and personal life), it’s important to be organized. So start off by looking at your typical work routine on a normal day. What can you do in order to organize yourself more so that you are getting the most out of your day? Prepping yourself and planning ahead is also handy when it comes to mistakes. Mistakes can often be made by not having planned enough or a number of factors that need to come together to be successful but haven’t.
A work diary might be useful or using an online platform to schedule in all your work for the week. These online task management platforms also give you the ability to share your tasks and calendar with work colleagues. From HIPAA Compliant Appointment Reminders to programs like Asana, it’s worth looking into what applications or processes work the best for you, to help you get organized.
Be Attentive.
Giving all of your attention can sometimes be difficult. There can be so many distractions that are constant throughout your working day. However, it is beneficial for you to focus on being attentive to the task in hand. Being able to multi-task for example, can actually be counter-productive and it’s much better to take a task one by one so that your full attention can be given. Being attentive translates well with your colleagues and anyone you work with, whether it’s a client face to face or with a customer over the phone. Don’t talk constantly, try to be attentive by listening to what they’ve got to say. We’ll often miss things because we’re too busy thinking of something else or talking over them. These little mistakes are often things we don’t even realize, but it could actually be beneficial not to make them. Start practising at your level of concentration and pay attention when your colleague or boss is speaking to you. Regardless of whether that’s as soon as you get to your desk in the morning or during that mid-afternoon slump.
Ask Questions If You’re Confused.
Questions are meant to be asked, wouldn’t you agree? Questions provide you with answers when it’s something you don’t understand or perhaps confused by. When you don’t ask these questions, you can move forward but without the full picture and that can end up leading to mistakes that might impact badly on yourself plus anyone you’re working with on that particular task or project. Being able to put your hand up in a meeting or to ask your manager or colleague to go over something again is by no means a reflection of your abilities. You’re judged only on your actions and asking a question is a way of perfecting that action to the best of your ability. If you find that communicating with a staff member, whether that be someone in your department or your line manager, think about how you can get that information a different way. Maybe it’s worth catching them over email or during a quieter time of the day. Building relationships with other staff members will only help out more when you need to ask a favour.
Always Be Learning.
Every day, we tend to learn something new. Whether it’s a skill that’s finally been perfected, understanding what that button does on the software you use in work on a daily basis or simply reading the morning news. You always want to be learning because that not only builds your character, but it also helps when it comes to your mistakes. Mistakes are meant to happen, and it’s all about what you can learn from them that will help reduce the chances of you making the same mistakes again.
Don’t be afraid to ask colleagues or your manager for advice or for their time to teach you something that maybe is holding you back from improving. Most people will want to give someone struggling, a helping hand. But that does mean that you need to reach out yourself, rather than wait for someone to come along and help you. The same attitude goes for most things in life. If you want something, then you need to go out and get it. You may find that doing an online course or gaining some skills through a training event might be worth your time and money. It’s all things that can end up featuring on your resume but also can help improve your job performance and the level of success that you can achieve without failing.
Get Rid Of Distractions.
It was mentioned previously above, but distractions can be what causes procrastination to occur or for work to simply not get done in a timely fashion. If there are certain things that require your attention or need you to be fully focused on it, it’s good to know how to get rid of distractions. Firstly it might be simply blocking any access to personal sites or entertainment sites on your web browser. This will stop you from casually clicking down the rabbit hole and before you know it, an hour’s passed and you’ve done no work. Try looking at your surroundings. Maybe you’d benefit from working from home on occasion so that you have no chance of colleagues stopping by at your desk to have a chat. With any distractions, mistakes are likely to follow so look at how you can combat the distractions that occur on a daily basis. It could be down to the environment or your own personal habits. Once you’ve identified them, you can work at removing them!
Always Double And Triple Check Your Work.
Every piece of work you submit to approval and every project or campaign you work on, whether it’s sending out a tweet or pitching to a client, needs to be perfect. Human error can happen, and therefore, it’s always a good idea to double and triple check your work before it goes out to anyone that’s responsible for its success. Often enough, though, when you’ve spent all your time on something and the work has only had one set of eyes on it, mistakes can be made. Having someone to check it over, like a fellow colleague or your boss can be very useful. If you don’t do a check on your work, then you’ll come across as being sloppy, and that’s not the level of professionalism that you want to be showing to anyone of importance.
Work Smarter Not Harder.
We all have the same amount of time in the working day and in our personal lives. We’re all only human and to work yourself to the bone is not healthy. There’s a phrase that’s often mentioned when it comes to working, and that is to work smarter, not harder. Working hard is important, but when you’ve only got so much time to work with, working smarter is going to be more helpful. When it comes to making fewer mistakes, being wise with your decision making instead of just increasing your workload, is going to be more beneficial. Remember that if you want to gain success, you need to perfect your working style, and that means getting the most out of your day. If you’re not already or you feel like you can get more smarter with your workload, then put more thought into it.
Keep A Clean Working Space.
A clean working space equals a happy mindset, and that in itself is great for your happiness and mental wellbeing. A messy working space can also lead to more mistakes. If your boss wants that all-important presentation on their desk in five minutes, how do you find it under a mountain of paperwork and disorganized madness? Treat your working space as an expansion of your mind, ensure it’s neat and tidy at all times, no matter how often you tend to chuck things to the side for later. Being presentable within your working space is going to give you the right attitude that you need in order to make fewer mistakes at work.
We’re all capable of improving, regardless of where we go wrong, so don’t get down-hearted if you fail or mess up. It happens, and it’s meant to happen for a reason. Use these tips in your own work life and see the difference it makes to both how well you work but how successful your career can become because of it.
