At Work or School – Things You Should Not Do Everyday

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You go to the office day after day, week in week out. There are countless meetings and seminars and assorted things that go on all the while you are on the clock. 

After many years in the military and near as many in the civilian work force, I have obseved many things along the way. It's for your own good. Cut these things out of your day and you'll see gains in productivity, not to mention happiness.

Check Your Phone:

It ticks me off to no end when I am talking to a person and they look at their phone. Are you on medication? Do not check your phone while talking to someone. Stop checking your phone. It doesn't notice when you aren't paying attention. Other people? They notice. And they care.

Multitask during a meeting.

I understand that there may be an instance where you must, but try to keep it at a minimum.The easiest way to be the smartest person in the room is to be the person who pays the most attention to the room.

Think about people who don't make any difference in your life.

The inhabitants of Planet Kardashian and Planet Game of Thrones are okay without you. You shouldn't have more than one or two thoughts or conversations a week about TV shows and TV characters. Your family, your friends, your employees all the people that really matter to you deserve something deeper and more important.

Let the past dictate the future.

Mistakes are valuable. Learn from them. Then let them go. I think we have all traveled down this road. Wait until you're sure you will succeed. You can never feel sure you will succeed at something new, but you can always feel sure you are committed to giving something your best. And you can always feel sure you will try again if you fail. Stop waiting. You have a lot less to lose than you think, and everything to gain.

Gossip:

This next one is an office killer. Stop talking behind someone's back. If you've talked to more than one person about something Joe is doing, wouldn't everyone be better off if you stepped up and actually talked to Joe about it? And if it's "not your place" to talk to Joe, it's probably not your place to talk about Joe.

Say "yes" when I really mean "no."

Refusing a request from colleagues, customers, or even friends is really hard. But rarely does saying no go as badly as you expect. Most people will understand, and if they don't, should you care too much about what they think?

What can you do to make it a better environment where you work or go to school?