3 Tips for Simplifying and Streamlining Your Professional Life in the New Year

You know that old saying from Confucius; “choose a job that you love and you will never work a day in your life?”

Well, there’s a decent message in there about doing work that you find fulfilling, but the fact of the matter is that no job – even the best possible job – is free from those days when you just don’t want to get out of bed, and those moments when things simply seem to be spiralling out of your control.

If your professional life isn’t exactly what you want it to be right now, and seems way too complex and tricky to get a handle on in any reasonable way, here are a few tips for simplifying and streamlining it in the New Year.

Use tools to consolidate different elements of your business as concisely as possible

One of the issues that affect so many of us these days is that so many jobs now require us to juggle all sorts of different tasks simultaneously, while keeping the right balance between them, and not losing track of what’s going on at any given moment.

In a situation like this, it’s essential that you use the right tools and systems to consolidate the different elements of your business so that you can manage them as concisely and efficiently as possible.

Consider signing up to a content marketing platform or other suite of digital tools that allows you to maintain a clear and strong central overview of the different features and functions of your business, simultaneously.

Be more strict about your work-life balance

If your work seems to be constantly growing in complexity and spiralling out of control, part of the reason for that may be that you, yourself, are beginning to unravel and lose control on a personal level.

For many ambitious professionals – and especially for entrepreneurs – it’s often difficult to maintain anything like a reasonable work-life balance. But none of us are machines, and in order to actually perform to the best of our ability at work, we need to have enough balance in the other domains of our lives as well.

In the New Year, make a resolution to be more strict about your work-life balance. When you know that you have to clock off at a certain time, you will likely be a lot more efficient and focused during those ours. And then, you’ll be able to recover your mental faculties and recharge your batteries during your personal time, too.

Practice saying “no” more often, and look for your 20% activities

One problem that a huge number of people have in their professional lives is that they simply try to handle too much simultaneously.

If you run your own business, in particular, it’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming that you need to be wearing 10 different hats at once, and juggling dozens of different campaigns and strategies as well.

It’s important to remember, though, that you only have 24 hours in a day, and you only have so much mental and physical energy to spend during those 24 hours.

If you try to do too much in your professional life, you might spread yourself too thin and underperform as a result.

Instead, practice saying “no” more and look to focus your energies primarily on the 20% of activities that yield 80% of your positive results.