27 Goals to Improve Your Performance at Work

When it comes to improving on a personal and professional development front, we tend to take a step back when it comes to self-improvement. Normally, we would sit back and wait for the performance review to look at areas of improvement. This would include improving your skill set, setting personal benchmarks and reviewing them. Also, learning leads to a better quality of life improves confidence and personal development. It also influences our lives in a positive way. You should know that improvement comes from within and you need to take control of that.
Goals That Will Help You Execute Work Better
These are 27 goals that you should take control of to improve your reputation and performance at work, reach new skill levels and professional development:
1) Organize & Prioritize
The first thing that you should do is create a daily schedule and follow it. You should identify the top projects that you need to complete. Create a task list that is manageable, has a sense of purpose and adds value.
2) Stop Multitasking
Ensure that you stop multitasking on several projects at once. This is because in reality the quality of work is compromised and it lowers IQ and EQ, slows you down and increases stress which in turn creates a lot of mistakes. You should then look to unitask instead and make the most of your time.
3) Discover Your Boss’s Style
Think that you are the boss for one moment. The most important thing to do is to build an effective strategy which means that you should empathize and discover your boss’s style. This will help you imagine what they are looking for in an employee. You should know what it is dealing with employees and your subordinates. You can ask your boss a series of question that will help you get to know them and how to set an agenda based on how to manage your boss. The main thing is to understand your boss’s style and orientation and to stay one step ahead always.
4) Avoid Distractions
You should know that focus is a fundamental quality of productive people. So the best thing to do is ensure that you focus on a single task at hand. In time, you should practice staying focused and strive to complete one task and moving to the next.
5) Manage Interruptions
It can be easy to minimize or forget the number of times that you are interrupted in a day. You never know where interruptions could come from. This could come from all directions like co-workers, bosses, and family. The best way to manage interruptions is to keep a stack of post-it notes and index cards nearby. Write on top of each one and write down a person’s name of people that might interrupt you during the day. Next time, they ask you for something, you should also talk to them about points on things that need to be addressed. Just think of the amount of time that you would save by doing three to four things at once rather than doing this three or four times a day for each item.
6) Relationship Building
Try to create a strong relationship with colleagues that are outside to your immediate area of responsibility. One of the books that stress on this is the best selling Getting More: How To Negotiate to Achieve Your Goals in the Real World, Wharton Business School professor Stuart Diamond notes that “companies, even small ones, can be very political places.” He suggests that allying with people will help you including employees that have been there for a long time. You might have overlooked others especially those that work in HR, staffers and the IT department.
7) Be a Great Finisher
There are many of us that are great starters but not finishers. There is always some reason that we fall short. You should think about how many times that you started something new. This would mean a project, a New Year’s Resolution and reflect on it to demonstrate your accomplishments and contributions.
8) Start Early
To be as effective as possible, you should start your day early. This means that if you arrive 15 minutes before you usually do, then you should get an early start and be a step ahead with the day’s tasks. Also, you should reward yourself later with maybe a longer lunch break or a departure for a home that comes earlier than the stipulated time.
9) Set Milestones
When it comes to completing a big project, it could be quite overwhelming. This should not stop you from taking time to celebrate small achievements. You should break large projects into blocks of mini-tasks and create individual success metrics. This is great to keep you on a high morale and improve your energy levels. After which, you should review your progress and reward yourself.
10) Wear the Bosses Shoes
Think of stepping into the boss’s shoes. Look at the big picture and look at the goals from their perspective. The best thing to do is to make effective strategies that will allow you to discover or empathize their aspirations. Ask yourself questions like “What are they looking for in an employee?”, “What skills should I know?” or “What are the qualities needed to be successful in your position?”
11) Get a Mentor/Be a Mentor
You can enhance and grow your skills by being a mentor. As a mentor, you can offer a new insight, vision, and perspective. You should work with a mentor and stretch your thinking and supply with a stream of self-development ideas based on talent and skills. You should not forget to gain experience by mentoring someone else and facilitate your own professional growth that will help you with your position and make you an asset to your firm.
12) Simply Listen
Pay attention to listening as it is important to effective communication. You should spend time thinking about how to listen without interrupting others. If you have matured your listening skills then you would have increased your productivity with lesser mistakes, higher client satisfaction rates, and innovation.
13) Aim for Clarity
You should look for clarity and with clarity, it improves confidence. You should always make it a point to ask questions when you are not 100 percent sure of your responsibilities. Then you should schedule time quarterly to re-evaluate goals, review if your responsibilities have fulfilled these goals and how to better partner with team members to reach your goals.
14) Research
Another important tool that you should add to your skill set is research. You should look at not wasting other people’s time and doing your homework before taking on any new task. This will make you better prepared to meet the present strategies that will help you reach and accomplish each objective.
15) Write a Letter to Your Future Self
Ask yourself, “Where would you see yourself in 1, 3 and 5 years time? What would be the same? What would be different? Also, write a letter to yourself and work extremely and constantly become that person.
16) Identify Your Blind Spots
Look for blind spots that you are unaware of especially about ourselves and this could cause good intentions that are usually perceived in a negative light. Usually, if you are not careful then you would tend to ignore this. You should look at yourself honestly and ask for feedback from others and be willing to make changes. Then you should reach out to your peers to ask how you are perceived and discover behaviors. These behaviors could either hinder or strengthen your influence and you should be aware of this. You should view this feedback as an asset instead of a judgment and then you should realign your reputation to the ideal person that you should be.
17) Simplify Something
You should look at simplifying things, this is because you should make things less messy and less complicated. You should find ways for each week to simplify or automate a difficult system or process. This could include a messy office, checking emails and doing daily tasks. This could help you improve efficiency and keep things simple.
18) Ask Questions
You should constantly push yourself to the edge for self-improvement. Keep asking yourself if there is a more effective way to achieve the same results. Determine if you are working as efficiently as possible. This can be done by brainstorming. You should always believe that things should be improved.
19) Know Your Competition
Learn about your competition and observe them keenly. You need to identify if what they are doing is right and you should use it as a learning opportunity. After which, you should ensure that you should implement something new at the firm.
20) Acknowledge Others
When it comes to work, it’s all about teamwork. You should learn to help others, give credit wherever its due and be grateful. You will be surprised at how your encouragement and motivation would be a simple way to make the team feel wholesome. A simple “Great Job!” would help the team rise and grow together.
21) Read
You should read on personal development or articles based on your industry every day. Start with reading a journal and then start recording notes. Then you should identify what you have learned and look at how you can apply your findings in your work and personal space. After which, you should share this information with others to establish expertise.
22) Give Yourself Down Time
There’s nothing like a good vacation for professional development. Otherwise, you will have a lot of stress and in time there could be a burn out that increases and productivity decreases. You need to schedule time away from work to refill and rejuvenate yourself for a healthy work-life balance.
23) Practice Humility
The best thing you should practice is humility and not self-promotion. You should encourage team members and have a high respect for their unique skill sets and important contributions. Another important driver is passion. If you love what you do then you will put your best work forward and perform at your best. These values will be reflected and respected in your personal and professional life based on its true meaning and how you go about it.
24) Eat Healthy Foods
You should consume healthy food throughout the day to avoid energy crashes and for your brain to be fueled properly. Food is imperative for boosting brain power and creating impact and productivity. Junk food only affects your weight. It causes decreased productivity and energy crashes.
25) Get Moving!
You should exercise as its important for your mind and body. Exercising is known to reduce stress hormones and increasing growth factors in the brain are necessary for neuronal connections. It’s better to work out in the morning as its difficult to motivate yourself after a really long day. However, the most important thing is to be consistent.
26) Delegate like a Boss
Ever wonder if it’s possible to complete all the work on your plate? This is why you should delegate. You should be willing to outsource some low-value tasks. You can connect with online services that will help get tedious tasks done.
27) Treat Yourself to Motivate Yourself
You should look at making effective ways to manage your habits and your productivity. You need to train your brain to focus on goal-oriented tasks. Also, you should learn to reward yourself after completing things on the do-list. In short, people that are happy and feel good are more productive than those that are not.
So if you are between jobs and not sure what to do, then you have come to the right place. All you have to do is apply for your benefits. We at FileUnemployment.org have the right set of tools: Benefits Calculator, Eligibility Calculator, and Base Period Calculator and information to help you on your way.
Related Tags : goals, improve work performance, performance, work
I lost my job 8/11/ 2019 I filed my claim the same day. I was fired for an altercation at the job. I was not the aggressor, but did attempt to non violently protect myself. I’m curios if defending yourself is grounds for “no fault of your own”.
Raamir,
It can be as long as you’re able to prove in case of a dispute after you apply. Please make sure to keep supporting documents handy and reach out to the Unemployment Office for clarification.
I applied for unemployment on 8-1 and was approved. I received my letter of eligibility and debit card about a week ago. I did not file my intitial bi weekly claim because I missed the deadline by 1 day (didn’t realize they would be closed on Saturday). When I logged on it said I would have to reopen a claim because mine had been closed. I filled out the online form to deactivate the claim. My question is this: will I have another waiting week? And will unemployment have to contact my employer all over again to verify my wages and go through the entire process all over again or will they just reopen the claim with a new date window to file?
Cory,
Since your file is on records, I suggest you reach out to the Claims Center for status and clarity.
Lost my job in 10/2018 due to plant closure, collected vacation and severance pay. Opened a claim in 1/2019. Got an on the job training job through career link in 5/2019 worked one week and became very sick and was off for two weeks VA could not find anything wrong but gave me medication for the symptoms and an excuse to return to work, prior to returning got a call from my recruiter at career link telling me the position was filled so i did not return. Reopened my claim, a few weeks later got a letter informing me the employer had appealed and said i did not return, had a hearing and the employer did not show but i lost and got a 2500.00 over payment. Got a temp job through an agency but have only worked 4 days in two weeks. Reopened my claim and was told i need to earn 2604.00 from current employer before it can be opened, did i do something wrong? Still applying for work but am days away from losing everything, need income to pay bills. PLEASE HELP
Rodney,
Your eligibility to claim UI benefits depends on multiple factors including monetary eligibility. If you’ve been officially told about the shortage of earnings, there’s nothing much one can do. If you’re still confident of winning the appeal, please make a strong case.
I live in KY but my base wages were from earnings in GA when I lived there. I’ve exhausted my benefits in KY. Am I able to now file through GA since my earnings through 10/18 came from there?
Dee,
As much as I am aware, Unemployment Insurance is a one time cycle. Please call the Unemployment Office in GA for more.
The hours at work have been cut due to lack of business for every department.
So all full-time positions are now part-time.
How do I file for partial unemployment?
The only options I see (in Texas) are for full unemployment.
Eric,
You should be able to claim partial UI benefits. Please consider applying online until full hours are restored.
how long does it take for benefits to begin
William,
If everything goes well, it should not take more than 7-10 business days (waiting week). Please call the Claims Center for more.
I was employed by a VA company for 5 years, my contract ended yesterday (07/31/19), however, I worked remotely for those 5 years and live in FL, which state do I apply to for my unemployment benefits?
You apply in Virginia…however, I worked seasonally and they used a ‘quarter’ that was empty, so even though my employer paid in, I only got a 1/3 of what I should have received. Figured that out later :/ They will also question WHY you aren’t able and available to work IN Virginia. They froze my account for about a month.
Oscar,
Please check with your employer if they remitted UI taxes into the system. Contract workers are generally not eligible.
I may have not been clear, my employer is a government contractor, I was a full time employee of the company.
Oscar,
In that case, please go ahead and apply if your employer remitted UI taxes into the system.
I worked 37 years with the same company in Texas. On July 2nd of 2018, I was let go due to workforce reduction. I signed up for benefits several months later and now have drawn my 26 weeks of benefit. Is there any program currently open in Texas or federally that will extend additional money while job seeking?
Lonnie,
The E.U.C(Emergency Unemployment Compensation) remains expired. There is no extension available. Please inquire further with the labor authorities in your state by calling them.
I have been an employee of my company for 34 yrs. My position is being eliminated but I have been offered another position for less money. It is a much more physical job that I am not sure I can perform well. I am 75. If I try to fulfill the position and cannot do it, will I still be able to get benefits if I quit? They want me to try it for a couple of weeks to see if I am strong enough and if I can afford the cut in pay.
Lynda,
I suggest you call the Unemployment Office to find out about eligibility before making a decision on continuation.
I recently lost my job..i was late for work and they took me off the schedule..never told me i was fired..didnt ask for uniforms back. Another cook was andd has been late for work and he didnt get taken off the schedule.can i still get unemployment?
Kandie,
Please note UI benefits are only offered to claimants who lose employment due to no fault of their own. You can call the Unemployment Office for clarification.
Are there any training benefits or programs that will pay for an advanced degree, such as a PhD which is needed to become more employable?
There are multiple training programs administered by the Labor Department in each state. For more info, please call visit the official website of the Unemployment Office.
I’m about to exhaust my Unemployment benefits. I was laid off from my first job and
found employment then I lost my job and became unemployed again. I applied for benefits and have have almost exhausted my benefits but have not found employment. Can I file for an extension?
Deanna,
The E.U.C(Emergency Unemployment Compensation) remains expired. There is no extension available. Please inquire further with the labor authorities in your state by calling them.
After reading your article it’s still not clear to me about requirements surrounding moving to another state and completing/continuing to collect. I have 8 weeks eligibility left, I am moving from MA to FL. The end of your article says: “Since it’s all virtual (online), you may still consider the option of continuing your claims from the base state even if you move to a different one until completion. As a responsible claimant, it’s your duty to inform the base state about your movement to ensure there are no hassles in the near future.”
So it sounds like even once I am in new state I am eligible to continue to collect from my base state. I can just continue to do my required weekly job search and reporting to and filing in my base state (I do it via phone call-in). No need to complicate things by doing some crazy state transfer of benefits. Benefits also done via direct bank deposit and no need to change anything. Do I even need to tell my base state I am now living in a new state? Why? Thank you.
Paul,
For the ease of understanding, each state has its specific rules and laws with regard to administering Unemployment Benefits. It might be an obligation for a claimant to inform about the movement. For clarification, please call the Unemployment Office and speak to a representative.
I was recently fired from my work 25-June-2019/due to me not meeting their “standards/ expectations” i submitted my UE claim on 28-June and have not received any pay as of today, 19-July. The status is currently “adjudication in progress,” my question is, should i be worried this will be denied? I read the FAQ on the UE webpage and it said only a couple applications require the adjudication process. How long does this process usually take to get the final answer of whether I’m denied or approved? The website stated it susuallt takes ~25 days for the adjudication process, does this mean once that’s done then i still have to wait another 2-6 weeks for final processing after? THANK YOU SOO MUCH to whomever is able to provide me with some answers/ input.
Sincerely,
Talia
** this is my first time ever being fired or having to file for unemployment so i really have nooooo idea what is standard or normal or whatever. I feel like an idiot with my simple questions but it would bring me so much relief having them answered, truly
Talia,
I can understand your reason for the anxiety. Adjudication is a fact-finding process where both the claimant and the employer will get an opportunity to present their case. During this process, make sure to produce supporting documents that amplify your stance. For all you know, the adjudication can be a lengthy process.
Best Wishes!
I was permanently severanced from my job due to a Co. Reorg & received my last severance pay last week. I called UE & was told that I should now do my application online since I will no longer be getting funds & still without a job & that this coming Sunday regardless of knowing if I will or will not get benefits yet that I should still file a weekly claim in case of UE back pay.
So my question is, do I still have to report 4 jobs applied to within this week, even if I do not know if I will be approved/denied for benefits until possibly next week anyway?
Lynda,
You should continue to report the job applications as long as you’ve been asked to do so. There will be a “Waiting Period” and the first payment will take about 7-10 days after which they’ll flow much quicker. Please call the Claims Center for clarification.
I tried to transfer from one state to another. When I left Montana I was told there would be no problem transferring. When I arrived in North Carolina I had trouble reaching the area manager by phone. When he finally called me back he said to meet him for lunch to discuss when and where I would be working. He did not show up for lunch. Then he never returned any of my calls. I went PA to visit a friend a few weeks later and tried there. I met with the hiring manager and was told there should not be a problem doing the transfer since I was still in the system. I called the store a few times and they said it was still pending. Then I was terminated without even a phone call. Am I eligible for unemployment and if so do I file in Montana or North Carolina. I still have a Montana drivers license but I am living in NC.
Stacey,
As long as you were unemployed involuntarily, you should be able to claim UI benefits. Please consider applying.
I have worked for 32+ years and recently have become unable to work due to health reasons, so I have had to resign from my job. I have contacted SS and will be able to apply for disability but it will take awhile to process. Can I apply for unemployment benefits? I live in WV.
Sandra,
UI benefits are only extended to claimants who lose their employment due to involuntary reasons. Please reach out to the Unemployment Office for more.
I had to quit my job at Walmart in Fairmont West Virginia and moved back to my home state ky, I’ve got a son with drug problems and 3 older sisters that are not doing so well in health cause of their age. I didn’t understand about the transfer part they had at Walmart that I could put a date when I could start back because of my car problems I thought when I left I had to go in like in s few days, I’ve applied here at Walmart in Winchester ky 40391 two times already plus dollar store, speedway, truck stop, bp, a few other places it’s been going on 7 months without a job I live with my son and its getting harder on him paying rent and utilities and food, not to mention our personal hygiene stuff I really need help I have no income coming in to help him and his wife out I get foodstamps and Medicaid I was praying I could qualify for unemployment PLEASE HELP!!!
Vicky,
I can understand your situation. Unfortunately, UI benefits are only extended to claimants who lose employment due to involuntary reasons. Please call the Unemployment Office for further clarification.