5 Tiny Hacks Smart Employees Use To Get Promoted
These small changes can have a surprisingly large impact on your promotability.
martin-dm, Ralf Geithe | Canva You needn’t turn your whole life around to make a huge impact. Small changes can maximize your energy and output quickly. Here are some powerful tips that helped me get promoted fast that'll work for you, too.
Here are 5 tiny hacks to steal from employees who get promoted:
1. They start the day with movement
Starting the day in the gym is great for lifting those energy levels and staying fit, but those who take it a step further find ways to move throughout the day. They may take several walks. They take breaks with a few push-ups thrown in. Maybe they’ve installed a pull-up bar in their home office or dance to loosen those hips between Zoom calls. Productive people are always moving. They see "work" as a holistic and athletic pursuit, not a merely intellectual one.
Photo: Chiociolla / Shutterstock
2. They keep their head in the present
You can never enjoy your fullest productive potential if your head’s in the past or the future. You can’t get things done inside an illusion. Time only makes you depressed or anxious, which is a lousy place to be if it’s performance you need. Take a sword to time, and you’re left with what’s right in front of you. All you have is the lucid beauty of the right now. The freakishly productive do one thing at a time, with enjoyment, and they drop all concepts of time.
3. They're obsessive
Nothing remarkable was ever created without an "obsessive" level of focus brought to its creation. You simply must be obsessed if you want to go far and see real success in something, whether it’s learning a language fluently, writing a book, or building a business. Here’s another truth about obsession — you don’t wait for the inspiration to strike. You must first decide to be obsessed and bring relentless energy and attention to the object of your desire. This is beautiful because with a decision comes an eruption of energy and excitement that will surprise you.
3. They believe in brutal simplicity
It’s often comical how hard we all make our lives, both in the range of things we choose to do and how we juggle endless conflicting ideas in our heads The most productive people aren’t superheroes with extraordinary non-human powers; they just focus on bringing more time and energy to fewer things. Because they prioritize simplicity, they continually ask themselves: "What’s one thing I can do today to simplify my life?" It’s a continual process that results in getting more done at a higher level.
4. They have a playful approach to work
Bring a playful (even cheeky) approach to what you do. If you have a task you dread, how can you turn it into a game? Maybe you want to reach a specific numerical objective, time yourself, or race your accountability partner. Always consider the most playful route for your activities. In writing, for example, you want to first make it easy by loosely free-writing any old crap that comes to mind first. This makes it fun. We’re born to play. Productive people are frequently in play mode.
5. They're egocentric
Spiritual gurus will have you deny the ego at every turn. They’re right in that trying to protect our ego can make us overly self-conscious. But our inherent human need to embellish our image and expand our ego can also be a tool we can use to our benefit. Prove your doubters wrong by creating remarkable things. This is the naughty spirit you want to lean into. Enjoy the aspect of you that’s a bit of a show-off. Serve the joy your ego gets from seeing everyone’s jaws hit the flaw with your insane creative output. Find the balance between ego-free wisdom and a peppering of joyful confidence — you’ll be unstoppable.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient.