Six Tips for Industry Professionals on How to Attain Peak Performance
Written by Halimat Thanni
In every career we venture into, we want to be one of the top recognized performers at work (if not the only one). There’s an increasing desire to be the best at our workplace and climb the ladder of success. However, even if your organization recognizes your potential, there are also intentional and effective ways to achieve peak performance.
One habit every professional should cultivate is doing a personal work performance assessment. You don’t have to wait till the end of the year for a yearly or quarterly performance review by your company before you know if you’re doing well or not. A personal work performance evaluation will help you improve your skills, enabling you to achieve more and easily track your shortcomings.
Here are six (6) tips to help you better understand where and how to attain peak performance in your workplace.
- Focus on your goals
In the workplace, there will always be so many distractions and expectations. We often find ourselves doing too many things and not pointing toward significant achievements. Therefore, everyone must have a goal in mind at work. Ask yourself, what do I plan to achieve? Where am I headed? What do I want to be known for? What problem do I want to proffer a solution for?
With these in mind, you can be more aligned and productive with your work.
Having something that drives, motivates, and pushes you helps to remove distractions that don’t necessarily point towards being productive or meeting KPIs. The essence of having a goal is to help you train your mind, spirit, and body, which in turn gets you prepared for the pressure that comes with investing so much in your development and better helps you track your progress.
- Organize and prioritize
Stay in the present. While some goals are immediate, others can be done later. So, why not focus on what needs to be done now? Break those goals into smaller bits and place them in the hierarchy of needs and importance.
Create a daily to-do list to help you be more efficient and do what needs to be done now. To do this effectively, consider the following; Do you have to do this now? How does this translate into effective performance? Does this align with my goal? Etc. Staying in the present will help you focus on only those things that will help you be your best self and point towards peak performance.
· Take a Professional Course
One way to stay at the top of your game professionally is by keeping up with the latest developments in your field. A great way to do that is to never stop learning. No matter what you’ve achieved in your career, there’s still so much you can learn. Taking a professional course will significantly accelerate your career and aid you in attaining peak performance.
If you’re considering starting a new course, the Career Advance program by The Bulb Africa is a great place to start. The program offers courses in Data Science, Scrum, SAP, Product Design and more. These courses are taught by industry professionals, and applications are now open. Get started today by visiting the career advance site.
- Avoid multitasking
This is one of the most dangerous things people do at their workplace. To be relevant and noticed, many people take up too many tasks and give their best at none. As much as possible, avoid doing too many things simultaneously.
Make time for everything and give your all to every task. This is another reason prioritizing is crucial. This way, you feel less stressed, less prone to making mistakes, and more productive.
- Communicate
Unless you’re a freelancer, most organizations tend to require some level of teamwork to achieve results. Thus, communication is key to productivity and growth. Learn to communicate effectively and ask questions where necessary. It’s normal to feel uncertain about some things and need more clarity.
Hesitation to reach out for help is one thing that leads to ineffectiveness in the workspace. Talk and listen to what people have to say. They may just have exactly what you need or have been looking for. Use this to achieve better results and ensure everyone knows their opinion matters.
- Take breaks
This is by far the most important tip on our list. Having prolonged screen time is unhealthy, as is having to pour yourself into work continuously. Working constantly without adequate breaks causes a strain that affects physical, mental, and emotional health. Consequently, it affects productivity. Everyone has a limit; if you keep pushing it, it will undoubtedly affect your work performance.
So, the next time you’re working, and you’ve worked consistently for about 3 hours, or you’ve hit a blocker on a task, take a 5–10-minute break to refresh your mind. This will definitely increase your productivity and improve your overall well-being.
Conclusion
As an industry professional, reaching peak performance will be a tough road filled with many challenges. But with the right mindset and enough preparation, you can face any challenge head-on and become a better version of yourself.
Take a professional course, focus on your goals, remember to communicate and stick to our other tips, and you’ll be closer to being the best professional in your field.