How do you really feel on a Friday afternoon?

4.30pm on a Friday afternoon in offices across the UK. There is a sense of the countdown clock having been pressed. It’s just a matter of time before the bell goes and the class is dismissed. Am I right?

 

Just a long week? Tough day? Listen, we all have tricky weeks and not every day can be plain sailing or filled with excitement, but if you were to sit down and ask yourself, what’s the balance of ‘long weeks’ versus amazing weeks in the last month – what would the answer be?

7 Drayton Fox tips for staying focused

  1. List your achievements from the week

    Before you leave on your last working day of the week, make a note of the things that you have achieved in the week. Your top 3 accomplishments. The good news stories from the last few days. Read them back to yourself and read them again when you return the following week.

 

  1. Say thank you

    Try to speak to anyone who helped you that week – with a small task or a significantly bigger one, tell them you appreciate their support and that you will return the support whenever needed.

 

  1. Mentors

    There is a lot of noise in the business world about having a mentor system in place at work. I really like the idea. Being able to talk to someone else in a safe space for 15 minutes in a week is showing strong momentum and support as a concept. In turn, being able to mentor someone else is also hugely rewarding and gives you a chance to offer something to someone who may also be watching the clock on a Friday after a ‘long week’.

 

  1. Ask for support

    Far from being a sign of weakness, asking for help in the workplace is sensible, needed and rare. Not asking for support is often one of the major factors as to why people end up feeling overwhelmed. Again, a mentor system in your workplace could assist with this.

 

  1. Declutter your desk and your emails

    A simple 10 minute job to delete old emails, unsubscribe yourself from emails that no longer serve you and throw away unwanted desk clutter – all tasks which will breathe new life in the following working week.

 

  1. Declutter your mind

    Mindfulness and finding ways to keep your mind positive are critical for your health. And I’m delighted to see that it is now a topic that businesses are starting to take very seriously. We need a true understanding of how to manage and overcome a heavy workload, balance your outside work commitments, complete a tricky project, overcome issues with a colleague or a whole manner of things that may come your way – with confidence, clarity and an effective support network, without it affecting your mental health

 

  1. Inspirational podcasts 

    Listening to someone who has felt the way you are feeling or can relate in some small way to your challenges is important and often comforting. I can recommend several inspirational speakers (including Simon Sinek, Les Brown, Tony Robbins) who are well worth listening to via their podcasts. What I found was, that they may not be able to help in every situation, but their words are often very powerful and ideally 1 or 2 things may stick in your mind and positively influence how you feel about the next working day.

 

So there it is, our top 7 tips for ensuring you stay focused throughout the week. As always, we’d like to know what you think and whether you have any tips of your own. So get in touch on enquiries@draytonfox.com.