“Professionalism III”- 14 April 2015.
Don’t work hard work smart they say. According to me it means always do your work on time. Do not procrastinate and develop the habit of postponing things. They only pile up while you are sleeping and hit’s you on the head one day. You will always be caught napping and there could not be any excuses for the undone work or half done work. So your job and your work is the primary duty as an employee or an owner. Whether you run your own enterprise or you work for another for a pay packet, time management is the essential thing. And managing time is the most difficult thing and at the same time the simplest if the rules are followed. The rule is to do your duty and finish your tasks first. Never keep tasks pending. What can be done today do not postpone till tomorrow. Do it today and in fact be free of it and have fun. People will be envious of you seeing you enjoying yourself and may complain but will shut up when you show the work. Let not people see that you are working very hard but let him know that you are a smart worker who never has a pending list! That is working smart!
Helping others whenever you can is a sign of a good human being and a good colleague. People remember you in times of need and miss you. You become important for others and become empowered for you are needed. Most people would know you as you cannot go unnoticed. You become someone who not only completes his work in time but also helps others. This can happen when you have built your skills to a level of excellence. While most people may be struggling with their tasks you have already finished yours and is ready for helping another. Focusing on your skills and sharpening them is an imperative. A bad worker will always quarrel with his tools and keep complaining about this and that. While a good one keeps looking for ways to sharpen and polish his tools and weapons of his profession.
Another aspect rampant in organisations that is a killer is gossip. It’s a waste of time and spreads malice and ill will. It has never done any good to anyone. It is just a habit of poking one’s nose into another’s business and looking for aberrations to talk about. Snooping if done to gather information is fine as seeking information is actually important for the organisation for knowing the truth is imperative. But gossip is senseless and useless as it serves no purpose. Good professionals desist from indulging in loose talk and discourage it among people. Gossip and rumouring is always half baked and always the half truth- it is half the picture. Especially if it relates to people’s personal life it is worse. It spreads bad things about people and demoralises the work place. Openness and healthy dialogues are more meaningful in a workplace.
Some people may feel that working long number of hours make you a good employee. People who continue to hang on in work areas, after work hours, and stay on longer, trying to show that they are busy and active, either trying to prove their loyalty or some other point is uncalled for. Many famous people have always said that to do your work systematically and diligently and going home in time makes a better work life balance. A good professional will try to strike a fair balance with his personal life and his work life and that is what makes a good life. A person who is struggling long hours at the work station and failing to satisfy his personal needs is deficient in one areas and may lead to frustration. Doing the balancing trick is not easy and simple –it requires clarity and focus of goals and aspirations in life. It requires equanimity of the mind and of behaviour. It requires the power of concentration and the ability to do that one thing at a time that I aim to do. It also means understanding your achievement goals and awareness of your personal goals and making both happen with your effort and determination.
