Welcome to September
It is hard to believe summer is over and that September has arrived. With September comes a new need to reevaluate what we do and focus on doing the best job we can. One of the biggest challenges for all who work in Job Corps is to figure out how to stay productive at work and how to avoid gossip, distractions, and minding other people's business. When we focus on our jobs, we can find a newfound energy and excitement about what we do.
According to Vartika Kashyap (https://www.proofhub.com/articles/stay-focused-at-work) there are 14 proven strategies on how to stay focused at work. Below I will present the top 5 that mean the most to us at New Orleans Job Corps Center.
Create an hourly workplan
One of the major reasons why many of us lose our focus is not having a proper work plan. As a result, our mind begins to focus on whatever is right in front of us (or even what is ahead of us or behind us). An hourly work plan helps to give structure to your workday and allows you to know exactly when and what needs to be accomplished by the end of the day. Jot down what you need to accomplish that day and provide a timeframe for doing it. There may be times when a student's needs come first, and that is certainly understandable, but in general, an hourly work plan can help you stay focused and productive throughout the day.
2. Take short breaks
Sometimes when you just can't focus any longer, the best thing to do is just take a short break. Sitting at your desk for long periods can lead to fatigue, headaches, and lack of productivity. On the other hand, continually running around without having the time to sit at your desk and do the required Job Corps paperwork can create anxiety and procrastination. Vartika Kashyap advises us to take a short break (3-5 minutes after 60 minutes of continuous work).
3. Take up one thing at a time
There is a surplus of research that says that trying to multitask actually reduces our emotional intelligence and our ability to finish anything on time. Constantly switching between numerous tasks reduces our chance of completing any of them and, instead of saving time, we waste it. In Job Corps, we just don't have any time to waste. There are times when we have to turn our attention to students, but periodically during the day, we should try to focus on getting a given task done. At times that may mean shutting our door, putting up a “please do not disturb sign” and letting folks know when you will be available.
4. Keep your phone in your drawer
It appears that our phones may be our biggest enemy while working. It beeps, it sends messages, it provides Facebook notifications, and all those create distractions that can waste precious time. If we see our phone on our desk, the tendency is to pick it up and look at it. Keep it out of sight until you take a break and then give yourself time to check to see if there's anything important. If there is an emergency, you will know it without checking your phone nonstop. (By the way, I have done this and it does work!)
5. Organize your workstation
To model employability skills, it is important that when students come to visit us at our workstation it is professional, clean, and organized. Keeping our workstation orderly takes a little time but can have a huge impact on our focus and our ability to be productive. If we straighten our workstation before we leave every night, when we arrive in the morning we are ready to tackle whatever the day may bring with focus and renewed vigor.
Our ability to focus (just like a muscle) will develop over time the more we exercise it. When we practice focus and get down to the task at hand, we feel better about ourselves and the important work we do at the New Orleans Job Corps Center. Let's use this September to refocus and as they say, get down to business.
I believe in you and know you can do this!