1.  Procrastination; someday is not a day of the week (or so I’ve been told).

Easier to say, less easy to do. That 8th episode of House of Cards of the day just won’t wait until tomorrow. It’s a mind-set, but one thing that helps me is to write everything down. Take five minutes at the start of your day to write down the things you want to accomplish that day. That’s not to say I do everything I write down, things change – but it certainly helps!

2.  Organise – being organised is working in the most efficient way possible.

It saves us time, and time is invaluable. Benjamin Franklin once said, “For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned. Set aside 15 minutes each week to organise your week, a Sunday evening with the fear of Monday morning approaching usually works for me.

3.  Learn to take constructive criticism

Nobody is perfect, no matter what it seems on the outside. Criticism is a thing we all have to accept. I’m not an admin guy and I’ve been told so on more than one occasion. So, I have to work harder to be ‘the admin guy’. Not everything is personal, some things we just need to work on.

4.  If its broken, fix it!

We have all heard Einstein’s famous quote; ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’. If something’s not working, don’t be afraid to change it. If you are not happy at work, change it. If you are not getting called for job interviews, change your CV. If you don’t have enough time in the day for everything you want to do, get up earlier.

5.  It’s not all about work

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Nobody can concentrate every hour of the day on work; even if we do try! We need time to relax and switch off. It’s not possible to maintain productivity otherwise. Your brain and body will thank you for it.

In a year where we can look forward to more of Donald Trump’s ramblings, more Brexit talks, the Royal Wedding and the World Cup – lets at least make sure we do everything we can to move our career in the right direction.

If you are looking to make a change in your career, feel free to contact us at info@mentortalent.ie for advice.

For more blog posts and career tips, follow us on the socials: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or visit our website at www.mentortalent.ie.

Liam Caffrey, Co-Founder at Mentor Talent Acquisition