We’ve made it through another pandemic year. Congratulations! While we’re not singing 2021’s praises, it was definitely better than 2020. Let’s keep this positive trend going and make 2022 even better!
Regardless of 2021’s difficulties and frustrations, we couldn’t be happier with and more grateful for our loyal, enthusiastic, and all-around amazing customers—and we’re so thankful to be part of a workplace we love.
In this post, we’ve gathered our top content for becoming your best self. We’ll cover important topics, including professional development goals, strategies for better communication, and how to build confidence at work.
1. Professional Development Goals: Examples and How to Get Started
The world is constantly changing and evolving, whether we want it to or not. What was once standard practice in your industry won’t always be. In order to keep up, you need to adapt with the times. Professional and personal development goals keep us moving forward so that we can attain new heights and grow within our lives and careers.
In this article, we discuss the importance of personal and professional growth, including a list of professional growth examples, how to get started, and how to keep the goals you set.
Read the full article: Professional Development Goals: Examples and How to Get Started
2. The Benefits of Personal Core Values and How to Define Them
Your personal core values are what make you who you are. They provide a blueprint for all of your decision making. What matters most to you? Do you value family and commitment, or do you place more importance on freedom and adventure? There’s not a right or wrong answer, as every human being is different.
Defining your values will help you reach your goals, make decisions, find fulfillment, and ensure your personal needs are being met.
In this article, we cover the benefits of personal core values, including why they’re important, examples of personal values, and how to find your core values.
Read the full article: The Benefits of Personal Core Values and How to Define Them
3. The Benefits of Journaling and How to Keep a Work Journal
Regardless of whether you use a physical notebook, an online document, or an app, journaling regularly helps you sort through your thoughts, clear your mind, and improve and maintain your habits. Journaling gives you a place where you can vent, reflect, and keep yourself accountable. Plus, they make it easy to track your personal development. Curious about who you were two years ago? Look back and read your entries!
In this article, we outline the benefits of keeping a daily work journal, what you can use a journal for, and how to turn journaling into a habit. Feeling stuck and don’t know where to start? No worries—we’ll also provide tips for writer’s block and writer’s block prompts to help keep your thoughts flowing.
Read the full article: The Benefits of Journaling and How to Keep a Work Journal
4. How to Improve Your Rational Decision Making Skills
Making the right decision isn’t an easy thing to do. Sure, you’ve got a looming due date, but there’s a new season of The Witcher out. Will work be as much fun as watching an impossibly-handsome man slay monsters? Certainly not—so how do you make the rational decision to get work done?
Enter rational decision making—a critical skill that’s needed in every aspect of our lives. Without rational decision making, we’re slaves to our appetites, peer pressure, mob mentality, and instant gratification. We must be able to objectively evaluate our decisions in order to be functioning members of society, and we can’t do that without rational decision making.
Learn how to improve your rational decision making skills, how rational decision making can affect your mental health, what prevents people from thinking rationally, and how to become a better decision maker.
Read the full article: How to Improve Your Rational Decision Making Skills
5. How to Make Yourself Indispensable at Work
Job security is a serious concern for many of us in the workplace. Will your position be replaced by AI in ten years? Will you ever earn that raise or promotion? Is your manager only keeping you around until they can find someone better?
Unfortunately, every position is open to uncertainty. We can’t control outside factors, but we can control our own actions. The best thing we can do to make ourselves indispensable at work is to focus on our professional and personal development.
Take your personal and professional development into overdrive, heighten your level of emotional intelligence, and delve into our in-depth guide on how to make yourself indispensable at work.
Read the full article: How to Make Yourself Indispensable at Work🎙 Check out our podcast episode on the same topic: Making Yourself Indispensable at Work
6. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome at Work
Do you frequently feel like you don’t belong, aren’t qualified for your job, and don’t deserve the accolades you receive? Then there’s a good chance you’re living with Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is extremely common, particularly among minority groups and women. And while you may mask your crippling feelings of self-doubt and present them as humbleness or modesty, imposter syndrome devastates our self-esteem. Fortunately, there are strategies and habits you can build that will help combat your feelings of self-doubt.
Learn more about imposter syndrome, including how to recognize it in yourself, ways to overcome imposter syndrome at work, and how employers can help.
Read the full article: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome at Work🎙 Check out our podcast episode on the same topic: Overcoming Impostor Syndrome at Work
7. Actionable Strategies for Better Communication in the Workplace
Transparent and respectful communication is key to any successful workplace, but it’s easier said than done. Even if you feel like you’re a strong communicator yourself, chances are, you’ve wished your coworkers were more on your level. So, how can you cultivate better communication between team members and become a more effective communicator?
In this article, we share seven strategies for building effective communication in the workplace. Regardless of your industry or role, these actionable strategies will help you become a better communicator.
Read the full article: 7 Actionable Strategies for Better Communication in the Workplace🎙 Check out our podcast episode on the same topic: Actionable Strategies for Better Communication at Work
8. How Realistic Optimism Can Replace Toxic Positivity in the Workplace
Wait a minute—how is being positive toxic? Well, the truth is, unrelenting, toxic positivity encourages us to bury our negative emotions in favor of a bubbly and aggressively cheerful facade. Toxic positivity is the stubborn belief that no matter how disastrous or painful a situation really is, people should just stay positive.
Realistic optimism, on the other hand, is optimism with a plan; it’s believing in your own ability to succeed while accepting that the road to success will be challenging. In this article, we break down why realistic optimism should replace toxic positivity and how to effectively make the switch.
Read the full article: How Realistic Optimism Can Replace Toxic Positivity in the Workplace.
9. What to Wear to Work: Work Clothing 101
Choosing your work wardrobe can be challenging. Does your workplace have a dress code? Are you required to wear a uniform? Can you make alterations to said uniform? If you work from home, what are you expected to wear on your Zoom calls?
In this article, we discuss the Dos and Don’ts of work clothing, what to wear depending on your profession, what to wear if you work from home, how to dress up a work uniform, and more.
Read the full article: What to Wear to Work: Work Clothing 101
10. Why is Confidence Important at Work?
Confidence at work matters, and the truth is, too many of us don't have enough of it. Confidence at work improves communication with our coworkers and managers, boosts our productivity, and earns us respect from our peers; plus, being assertive also helps us get ahead.
But what are you supposed to do if you aren’t a naturally confident person? Fortunately, confidence isn’t something you simply have or don’t—confidence is a skill that can and must be honed and developed over time.
In this article, we discuss why confidence is important for you professionally and share ways you can grow your own confidence.
Read the full article: Why is Confidence Important at Work?
🎙 Check out our podcast episode on the same topic: Confidence at Work: Why It Matters and How to Get It
11. How to Find Motivation at Work
With nearly two years of a pandemic under our belts, finding motivation at work (or when working from home) isn’t becoming any easier. While the question of how to find motivation doesn’t have one set answer, it’s generally recognized that finding intrinsic motivation at work is best, such as when completing a job or task to the best of your ability is a reward in itself.
Focusing on the things you have no control over, such as extrinsic motivators like monetary rewards or consequences, can actually lead to a decrease in motivation.
In this article, we break down factors that can affect motivation at work and include tips for how you can boost your own motivation, including writing down and logging your successes and the importance of creating challenging—but attainable—goals for yourself.
Read the full article: How to Find Motivation at Work🎙 Check out our podcast episode on the same topic: How to Find Motivation at Work
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We’re passionate about self-improvement, and we’re always looking for new ways to help professionals become the best version of themselves. Follow our office supplies blog for the latest trends, strategies, how-to guides, and more.
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