10 Effective Work Habits – Examples and Tips for a Successful Career

Udn Webber

Editorial Coordinator

Admit it, we all have someone at work whom we admire for their work habits.

They’re brilliant at work, productivity is their middle name, and they’re the ones who unveiled the secrets to the best workplace habit.

You look at them and wonder… are productive people for real?

If you want to escape from the rut of mediocrity and learn ways to build a better work habit, we’re here to help.

In this article, we’ll highlight ten powerful work habits that most successful people swear by. And as a bonus, we’ve decoded a quick way to bring a habit into practice.

Thank us later!

Ready to adopt a good work habit ? Let’s go!

10 Powerful Work Habits for 2021

Good or bad, we all are defined by our habits.

And sometimes, the bad habits can be blown out of proportion at your workplace. In fact, you could be the most charming or the most annoying coworker just based on your working habits.

Remember Kelly Kapoor from The Office?

We’ll let you decide which category she falls into. 😁

But before we dive into successful work habits, let’s start with what are good work habits and why you should develop them in the first place.

The working habits definition states good work habits as behavioral patterns of an employee that contribute to their job performance. They’re success drivers that help boost your productivity, reliability, teamwork, and job satisfaction.

Some essential work habits examples include:

Most successful people practice these work mantras one way or the other. They also career coach others to adopt the same!

To help you out, here are ten positive work habits that you need for a successful career:

1. Be punctual and professional at the workplace

Being on time for work is a no-brainer.

However, being tardy can be one of the toughest bad habits to overcome.

And trust us.

Nothing drives a boss crazier than you being constantly late for the job.

If you don’t want to be in their bad books, aim to log in 10 minutes early at your workplace. This will help you map out your day and be ready when the official hours start.

Now, it can be harder to stick to good workplace habits, like punctuality, while engaged in remote working.

After all, watching over your neighbor’s cat is a legit distraction. 🐱

But you should still try to log in on time and be available for team calls or meetings.

Additionally, don’t be rigid about your work routine.

Sometimes it’s okay if an important task requires you to stay back, as long as it doesn’t affect your work life balance.

Punctuality and commitment to your work speak volumes about your professionalism. And the best way to inculcate this good work habit is to plan your day or office hours.

You could:

2. Respect and achieve deadlines

Sticking to deadlines is a positive habit and trademark of successful people. Completing work on time shows that you’re accountable and can nail tasks efficiently.

But if you struggle to follow through, you could set short-term goal for yourself and your team. This can serve as an action plan to help you better focus on the task at hand.

Additionally, knocking down and celebrating those small wins will set the momentum for bigger success.

You should also communicate with your managers about your workload and project progress to ensure you have realistic deadlines.

And if you suffer from Monday blues (we feel you) , have a to-do list ready before the week and plan out your work to better deal with deadlines.

3. Manage time for a healthy work life balance

Time management is a healthy habit that can make you stand out.

If you take a long lunch break, indulge in gossip, or discuss personal problems at work, it leads to good office hours wasted.

And if you’ve been bit by the social media bug, only you can save yourself from landing into trouble at work.

Time goes poof when you’re watching cute dog videos, right? 🐶

You can also lose focus and may have to work late, throwing your work-life balance out the window.

To develop a better work habit, you should:

You could also use a time tracker or project management tool to determine how you spend time on tasks and projects. Especially handy for a remote worker, as these apps can also help boost your deep work skill and let you manage personal tasks efficiently.

4. Take criticism well

Don’t frown at every criticism that comes your way.

No one’s perfect.

Giving or receiving negative feedback is important for growth , and it’s something you need from time to time.

You should treat your employer as your career coach and learn to de-personalize the message. The feedback from an employee or your boss is to help you focus and become a better version of yourself.

Consider it a blessing in disguise.

How well you handle criticism also depends on your emotional intelligence.

Some easy ways to deal with negative feedback are holding back your initial reaction, asking questions, and showing appreciation. With a positive attitude, you’ll naturally become more gracious about constructive criticism.

5. Ask relevant questions

No matter how skilled you are, you could get stuck at some point.

Ask for help when you need it. It’s a healthy habit.

Sometimes asking questions also facilitates discussions which can benefit everyone.

However, try to strike a balance between curiosity and annoyance. If you ask too many questions, especially the same ones, it can quickly become a bad work habit.

The point is, don’t annoy your fellow workers with “ where’s the coffee machine ?” kind of questions.

Instead, be a go-getter and follow the mocha scent. ☕

6. Be ​organized

You don’t have to be the ‘ go big or go home ’ type of organizer at your job.

Start small with things like:

And continue to make progress from here.

A cluttered work desk and a messed-up daily schedule is also a big no-no. You don’t want to be under the spotlight for such bad work habits.

You could also use a task management tool to organize tasks and help you build this positive work habit. From tracking deadlines to visualizing tasks, these tools can help you stay organized.

7. Communicate effectively

Whether you perform in-office or remote work, always communicate clearly with your employer or fellow workers.

You don’t need the thesaurus to draft a response.

Be simple yet effective.

And don’t forget to update your boss about the project’s progress regularly. They appreciate it when you keep them in the loop.

However, you shouldn’t be the only person who talks.

Productive people are also active listeners . It’s a good habit and an excellent soft skill to have.

To be an active listener, here’s what you could do:

8. Take initiatives and learn a skill proactively

If all you do is sit and admire productive people, you won’t taste success.

To do good work and climb the success ladder fast, you must upskill .

Take note of skills you don’t have, and attend workshops or professional certification courses to fill those knowledge gaps.

You should also aim for managerial roles and go to a career coach if needed.

Additionally, don’t wait for your boss to delegate tasks, especially if you do remote work. Instead, ask for projects proactively.

Take the initiative for more work, even if it’s not in your job description. This will make you shine bright like a diamond among your peers.

But don’t overburden yourself if you already have enough on your plate. You don’t want to take up an important task and leave it unfinished.

Pro Tip: Avoid burnout and plan out your day by time blocking your busy schedule ! 🕰

9. Say no to procrastination

Chances are, you’d rather scroll through social media feeds during office hours than complete a project you dislike.

However, when you postpone important stuff, it only makes things worse.

And before you know it… kaboom. You’re way past the deadline.

But don’t let the fear of deadlines get the better of you.

If a task bothers you too much, you might as well get it over with. It’s also a healthy habit to commit to the task at hand and always finish what you started.

10. Use a habit management app

No longer confused about the “ what are work habits ” question?

Awesome!

But developing good work habits takes time, and bad habits are difficult to let go of. In fact, if you ask most habit coaches, they’ll probably say it’ll take you about 21 days to form a habit .

Then how do you stay on track? This is where habit tracking or productivity apps like UDN Task Manager come into the picture.

UDN Task Manager is one of the most popular and highest-rated habit management apps used by productive teams across all domains. It’s an all-in-one app that lets you set, manage, and track your personal projects and professional goals with ease. And the best part? UDN Task Manager ’s got a wide variety of habit management features for free !

Here’s a sneak peek into how UDN Task Manager can help transform you into a workplace rockstar:

Viewing Goal folders and progress percentages in UDN Task Manager

Ready to Practice Healthy Work Habits?

Developing work habits that’ll change your life won’t happen overnight.

But once you put your mind to it, you can surely master the craft of perfect work habits.

And while you have an assortment of workplace habits you could follow, it could remain a distant dream if you don’t have a habit tracking system like UDN Task Manager in place. Whether you want to develop a better work habit, organize all your Goals in one place, or track your progress, UDN Task Manager can be your one-stop shop for effective habit management.

What’s holding you back then? Join UDN Task Manager for free and become the employee everyone looks up to!