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Being self-disciplined at work

Self-discipline is the ability to push yourself forward, stay motivated, and take action, regardless of how you’re feeling, physically or emotionally. It’s what pushes you to do high-quality work, even when you don’t feel like it. Helps you to stick with and achieve tough goals that you set for yourself, and also enables you to keep going through to great success, despite what others might see as insurmountable odds. Here are some habits that can help you be self-disciplined.

Make practice a habit

As with any skill, you’ll need to practice self-discipline on a daily basis. Be clear about your expectations of yourself on the job and how you plan to meet the goals for which you are responsible. Breaking down your work hours into segments can help you focus on certain tasks. Additionally, breaking your longer-term goals into milestones can help you stay motivated by celebrating small wins along the way.

Visualise your outcome

Your brain doesn’t differentiate between real and imagined memories. So, when you imagine something vividly, your brain chemistry changes as if you’d actually experienced it. Visualising positive outcomes like, “When I make it to the top of our activity board, I’m going to treat myself to an excellent dinner,” gives you the positive feelings associated with ascending to the head of the leaderboard while reducing feelings of insecurity. This makes it easier for you to overcome feelings of fear and take actionable steps toward achieving your goals.

Put your goals where you can see them every day

Writing a goal down makes it all the more real. Hang it up somewhere you will see it often and inspire yourself – at your work desk, in your bedroom, in your car, etc. You can also set actual calendar reminders on your phone to go off once a week or so. But be nice to yourself. Don’t scare or shame yourself into your goals; rather, be happy, positive, and encouraging.

Don’t wait for it to feel right

If you wait for your schedule to be perfect, your desk to be clutter-free, or your inbox to reach a manageable level, you might never get started on the work that needs to be done. Embrace every moment as having just what you need to do your best work – because, well, it does.

Monitor your progress

As you work on your self-discipline, pay attention to how you’re feeling as it develops and strengthens. You might feel free, happy, proud, and energised. Also, think about keeping a journal to write down your self-discipline goals and to track your progress. This reinforces the positive changes that you’re implementing in your life and gives you a record that you can look back on to see the progress that you’ve made. Over time, your self-discipline will strengthen, and you’ll be able to apply it to lots of other areas of your life.

When it comes to self-discipline, it’s all about making the commitment to improve and picking yourself back up when you slip. Self-discipline is an important trait to develop, no matter your career level or industry. It’s the key to achieving personal goals and career success.

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