What is that we typically do for self-improvement? Set a large goal; try to accomplish that in the least possible time. At the outset, this seems perfectly alright but does not work in practicality. It often leads to exhaustion, frustration and failure. This pattern needs to change; instead, we should aim for simple path of continuous improvement by slowly fine-tuning our everyday behavior and habits. Continuous improvement means, making minor changes and adjustments in our everyday life with the anticipation of a remarkable change over a period of time.
It’s not that easy to believe that small changes can lead to big shifts of improvement because we can’t see any notable accomplishments on a daily basis, BUT IT WORKS. Minor alterations don’t show results at that particular point of time but add up over a period, hence, we can see the results only in the long run; in fact, it is possible that we may happen that we may not even recognize it initially.
How do we go about it?
We can bring a lot of improvement in our behavior, our work and our life by making some small adjustments in our everyday routine with continuous improvement.
It’s not that easy to believe that small changes can lead to big shifts of improvement because we can’t see any notable accomplishments on a daily basis, BUT IT WORKS. Minor alterations don’t show results at that particular point of time but add up over a period, hence, we can see the results only in the long run; in fact, it is possible that we may happen that we may not even recognize it initially.
How do we go about it?
- Avoid mistakes: Even before we try to improve, we should focus on identifying our regular mistakes and avoid them to prevent a loss. We should understand that, better ourselves quickly, it’s essential to do fewer things properly than doing more things improperly. This should be done by focusing on - not doing what doesn’t work for us. For e.g. try to identify the mistakes you are doing regularly and eliminate them. (If you are sending your emails often to a wrong mail id, you need to resend it to get the work done which is duplicating your work. So, make sure you don’t send emails to the wrong mail id; that will be an improvement for you for the day)
- Increase doing what works for you: Many times we tend to overlook our capabilities and ignore doing things that work for us because we don’t think they are trendy. We should note that every person is unique and what works for one may not work for others. So, we should identify the processes that bring consistency to our work and give us positive results. If making a schedule for the day and sticking to it works, then we should hang on to it. That makes us more productive and gives us a sense of accomplishment as we can manage time well while others may not.
- Measure with what you already have: We should always try to do something a little more than what we have already done, rather than trying to do something we have never done. For e.g. think what you have done the previous day. If you have successfully cleared 2 files yesterday, just target 3 files today. Don’t set a target of 5 files which you can’t manage. This way, you can see a little improvement on a regular basis that adds up to bring a considerable improvement over a period of time.
We can bring a lot of improvement in our behavior, our work and our life by making some small adjustments in our everyday routine with continuous improvement.