Whether your goal is to keep on top of the tasks at hand or to simply drink more water, we all have a few old and new habits to be worked on in the New Year. Studies show that it takes an average of 2 months to build a habit, here are some ideas to help you start building better habits at the workplace.  

1. Be tidy:

There is no doubt that your co-worker’s and more importantly your clients will come across your desk at some point in time. A clean and tidy workstation is important for your personal and professional image. Setting aside some time at the end of your day to tidy your workspace not only helps with your image, it helps with your following day’s productivity as well! 

2. Water:

We all know by now that drinking water is essential to life but what some don’t know is that drinking water throughout the day can increase productivity as much as 14%, when your dehydrated your brain constantly sends out messages of thirst, hindering your ability to focus on what you should actually be focusing on. Try adding water to your agenda throughout the day, it’s just as important as those emails but only takes a fraction of the time! 

3. Get some “Deskercise”:

Exercise is hard for a lot of people to fit into their busy schedules, especially those sitting as a desk all day. Small changes throughout the day can make a big impact in the long run, simple things like taking the stairs, taking a short walk on your lunch break or standing up to answer emails are easy ways to get you moving more throughout the day. 

4. Bring your lunch:

Whether your goal is to save money or spend less time waiting in lines for lunch, bringing your lunch is always a good idea. Bringing your lunch can increase your productivity in many ways, such as eliminating the hassle of deciding where to go and decrease the anxiety of being pushed for time!

5. The dreaded task:

Everyone’s got one, that dreaded task that most people wait until the last minute to complete, try starting your day by completing your most dreaded task first to get it out of the way, with one less thing hanging over your head you are more likely to focus better on the tasks at hand than worrying about that looming task you least enjoy.