2 habits that show you are trustworthy and mature

This article really hits home for me. Throughout my undergraduate career, I very much had to balance and prioritize the tasks I needed to accomplish. There were numerous occasions where I told people there needed to be more hours in a day, or that a time machine would be a priceless gift.

I have always had a weak spot when it comes to helping someone else. While this is not a flaw, by any means, I would also sacrifice time that I needed for myself (be it sleeping, homework, exercising, etc.) in order to help others. I knew it was inconvenient, but I didn’t think I could stomach the guilt of not helping everyone who asked.

This all changed for my the fall semester of my junior year. I had just switched from art to chemistry as my major, and I was trying to catch up. I was taking organic chemistry and inorganic chemistry at the same time. In addition, I was taking a “for fun” art internship class where we were tasked with building a video game. Oh, and I was voted the Art Lead, given my leadership abilities. To top it all off, I was also participating in a research lab, and I spent a majority of my non-class time in there.

I was able to keep up with all of my work, but I was tired and I was slacking on working out. The lack of sleep and exercise had me feeling really run down, and I was talking with a friend about all of it. During this time, several new clubs that I was interested in (along with the extra curriculars I was already in) popped up and ate up more of my time. My friend mentioned that I needed to genuinely stop offering to help everyone and hoarde some time for myself. I thought on it, and a few days later I was able to put myself to the test. The same friend I had talked to asked me to wake her up at 7:30 so she could get ready for breakfast. Not only would that mean I had to wake myself up earlier, but she was also in a dorm that was a good distance from my own. I told her I’d send her a text, but I wasn’t showing up in person.

After that, I really started thinking about how run down I felt, and I started backing off on how much I extended myself beyond my time limits. In my case, I was greatly deficient in two important areas of my life, sleeping and exercising, and I was juggling far too many tasks at once. Since then, I have gotten much better about balancing what I “need” to get done.

Billie Jean King stated that “pressure is a privilege” and this stands true in work environments as in many others. In a work environment a boss giving an employee is a sign of trust and belief that the employee is not a moron, knows how to prioritize, and will get the job done. The opposite side to that statement is that everyone has limits, and you have to know and acknowledge your own.

It is important to learn to manage yourself and know what your personal limitations are. Learning to say “no” is the hardest lesson to learn and master. As a nurse, it is vitally important that you learn how to manage your self and your time. To create the best outcomes for your patients, you need to be able to balance your load and create good outcomes from your interactions with patients and other staff. Learning to say “no” is hard, but it is important because as a nurse, you cannot be everywhere at once. By not doing everything, you can do the things you are doing more successfully and know that the product you put out is something that you are satisfied with.

I have always prioritized whether it was at work or at home. I believe the most important projects comes first unless a deadline is at hand for something that is non chalant. However, one thing I’ve learned through the years on a job what your boss say and want you to do may be more important than what you may think should be prioritized. I live by a firm rule “never bite the hand that feed you”. I say before you learn how to prioritize you need to know how to multi-task especially if you have a “BOSS’.

At one of my first jobs, we had the task of washing down doors with a magic eraser and window cleaner. My boss remarked that we wanted to leave it like we could be proud of it. We could have just rushed through it and left some nasty marks on the door but we did not and afterwards when I walked through the building the doors looked nice and clean. It helped me to realize not to shortchange, but to focus on one thing at a time and do the best job you can with each.

In strategic planning, prioritizing the task according to
our boss’ needs is foundational for the accomplishment of the administrative
and productive goals. This kind of coordination ensures that all combined
efforts of both the administrators and the workers will result in productivity.
And this requires realistic discipline, as Shannon suggested in his second
advice. Assuming more responsibilities than what can handled without
diminishing performance is prejudicial for the worker, and consequently to the
company as a whole.

I learned these lessons the hard way working in Andrews University. At the beginning, I decided to take as many tasks as possible, thinking that this would help me to gain my supervisor’s respect. Soon enough I got frustrated with my own performance since it was taking me very long to complete even a simple task. Fortunately, my supervisor approached the situation very responsibly and skillfully and I got to recover and to increase my production considerably.

I strongly agree with this article in that “lusting” after
“sexy” projects is unnecessary to be a “star” in your boss’ eyes. When first becoming acquainted with my
workplace, I virtually never ask for “sexy” jobs. I want to be sure I can handle the basic, yet
equally imperative everyday tasks well before vying for greater
responsibility. My first job was as a
veterinary assistant at a small animal clinic.
I frequently found myself engaging in the “non-sexy” tasks that the
remainder of the staff seemed set on avoiding, such as answering the phones,
cleaning the animal cages, and ordering supplies to stock the clinic. Yes, I would much rather have spent my time
placing catheters and preparing animals for surgery, but I knew I needed to
gain the respect of my boss before attempting to partake in these
activities. I knew I needed to familiarize
myself with the clinic operations.
Within a few months, I had demonstrated my reliability and competency in
completing some of the more mundane clinic duties and my boss took notice. She began seeking me out to help her with
some of the more challenging clinic work, including administering fluids and
restraining animals. My success in these
areas soon led to even larger responsibilities, as I was promoted to surgery
veterinary technician. The staff was amazed
at how quickly I had climbed through the clinic ranks.

As a zoo intern, I found that my willingness to complete any
task to the best of my abilities provided me similar results. It is not that I avoided challenging
work. Instead, I demonstrated my
eagerness to learn and be a valuable team member through my positive attitude and
enthusiasm to do absolutely anything my boss deemed important. I never acted as though any activity my boss
asked me to complete was below me. Such
an approach resulted in my being the first intern to receive a key to the
animal exhibits so that I could finish certain tasks without supervision.

I
believe that taking on the responsibilities no one else wants displays
maturity, character, and leadership. The
less “sexy” tasks are not always the least important ones, and they may
actually be a higher priority for your boss.
Furthermore, you have to be humble enough to realize you might not
deserve to be trusted with large tasks before proving you are capable of
completing smaller ones. You need the
foundation before you can build the house.
At the same time, you cannot shy away from the more challenging
tasks. An eagerness and a confidence to
complete the “unsexy” tasks easily translates into the motivation and the
ability to successfully complete the “sexy” tasks.

I think these lessons can prove very helpful. I must admit I have not had a great deal of success with my jobs in the past. I always started out ‘gung-ho’ but by the end of the job I would feel hatred for the job, my bosses, my coworkers, and the customers! Now, form reading several of these articcles I can see where I went wrong. I never thought about what my bosses prioroties were or that I needed to consider them. I figured he or she was the boss, so that was their problem. Now, I recognize that if my boss does not do well then neither do I and vice versa. I also, have a hard time saying no at first, but then I later regret it because I have bitten off more than I can chew. By then it is too late to say no without seeming flaky or unreliable, so I end up stressing myself out trying to finish more than I can handle. I wish I had this site when I was in the workforce in the past but I am glad it exists now.

Being able to say no not only shows maturity but also shows a backbone. Being a YES-MAN/WOMAN will leave you overwhelmed with things and will hinder your performance. As I posted on the other page, relationships are key in the workforce and they will get you extremely far in life if you use healthy techniques and habits.

Work, hard and get it done right. At my job I am not the top of the food
chain or the main strand of rope but no matter how much impact one has
at their job their effort, helps reduce strain on others. This leads to a
cohesive effective unit. This doesn’t main you need to get along with
every person who comes running in the door, but it doesn’t mean you
cannot work together. When, it comes to a boss realize they are
in-charge in and only as far as your job, you have full control over
your life, and if you feel like the workload is to much you have every
right to tell them, but don’t try and impress the boss by rushing
through his projects or your setting the hurdle to high and setting
yourself up for a very very hard landing. A job is a job it for me
provides the core of my ability to pay for utilize, educational bills
and personal enjoyments. It is how I can balance being a full time
student and full time employee. I love what I do because I am through
and appreciated by a reasonable amount of those in my public life.

Get the job done right and get on to the next one, don’t view life like a race
track but like a paint brush, taking your time focusing on whats
in-front of you and periodically assessing whats ahead but crafting the
best you can out of the present!

This is a great post. I particularly liked the part regarding taking on to many projects or being given to many projects. Not without some trials and tribulations, I recently realized the significance of making each second count. I started a new job just over three years ago. I work in a small law office. I previously worked in banking, in large banks, where our expectations were pretty much written in stone.

My new position had an interesting twist,my employer is blind. She is also an attorney. Her memory is along the lines of what I consider absolutely astonishing. She can remember everything. However, after working with her for a while I started to realize, that she cannot grasp time during the empty silent spaces that most of us fill up with body language. As a matter of fact for some reason all of her abilities are strong but unknowingly to her and to me for quite some time her sight disability causes her to not be able to relate time with work.

In addition to the time issue, my new employer does not like to be upfront about her disability and will
not say when there is something she cannot do. This created a very interesting work environment. At first, I would receive projects and thesewould be major projects. Shortly after assigning the project (about 5 minutes later) she would say did you finish thatfile. I was a little beside myself in the beginning but then I learned to narrate my actions. I would first, repeat to her what she asked me to do, to confirm my understanding.
Second, I would just sort of talk as I worked such as, “I am getting the file, I am finding the petition so that I can use it to draft the answer, I am proofing the document, I need to retype a paragraph.”

I know this may sound insane but it became what our relationship was built on. I eventually was able to tell her that I feel she may be misinterpreting time in some situations. The same thing would happen during Court hearings and with clients so it was not just me. As time went on my willingness to communicate with her in a way most adults most likely would not communicate (i.e.disclosing every single move they are making) created a trusting relationship that has benefited our small firm.

The silence in the court room would throw her off and she would speak out of turn or repeat herself several times causing the Judge to be frustrated. The silence with the clients would cause many uncomfortable situations where everybody was left staring at each other or similar to my situation, while they filled out
paperwork she would ask them over and over again if they were done while they were concentrating on trying to fill out paperwork or read a document.

She worked eight years prior to my being hired. My being overloaded and learning to say, “No,” in a polite fashion worked wonders in our situation, and helped develop a better practice. We have now created ways to address the Court silence and handle the client’s. The best part of it all is that now I will ask her, “is she done yet?” It was a difficult situation, I did not want to dis credit her ability; however, I knew she was at times asking for the impossible. I agree that maturity goes a long way. If I was not level and mature and trustworthy this situation could have gone in a whole other direction.

There are two main ways to show that you are trustworthy and mature; honesty and respect.

As a young child my parents instilled the cliche value of “honesty is the best policy”. Although at the time of learning it I did not fully comprehend the impact it would have on my life. Now everyone knows that an honest person is a trustworthy person, but honest builds integrity. Through integrity you are able to show people who you truly are as a person without having to actually be in front of them. My mom always said “It’s who you are behind closed doors with the spot light off that really shows who you are”. I took that to heart.

Now with honesty, comes integrity, and with integrity comes the highly coveted respect. Respect is so coveted and so highly sought after that songs have even been made about it. Being able to show respect for someone shows maturity. In every job there is a “pecking order” if you will. Showing respect at the bottom will earn you respect at the top. Being able to show respect for your coworkers or peers is a sign of maturity. Showing and receiving respect graciously will in turn show people that you are a trustworthy and mature person.

In my current job, I have learned a few things about earning my boss’s respect. In order for my boss to think I was mature and trustworthy, I had to be comfortable asking questions about tasks I did not understand and I had to be able to solve a problem the best I could on my own.

By asking question about tasks I was unsure of, I showed my boss that I wanted to get a job done correctly. Even if I had to take a little more time to figure how to the task, the task was done correctly the first time. More time would have been spent doing the task again. The more tasks that I completed correctly, the more my boss trusted me. I was able to take on bigger and more complex tasks. They were ensured that I would do a sufficient job.

Being a good problem solver is an excellent skill to have. Some people are born with it and others take some time to learn it. In my job, I was able to learn it by watching other people. When I experienced a problem, I applied what I had learned from training as well as what I had observed from my coworkers. If I am able to solve a problem without having to get my boss involved it saves them time. It also shows them that I am mature enough to handle myself. Being a good problem solver also means that you are flexible, quick on your feet, and always listening and learning. A boss admires these qualities in a worker.

On my list of of things to do, “set priorities” is my top priority. Being raised by my grandmother, myself and the house was always ran under control with rules and tiers of things to do. You can’t move on from one project until you complete the first. As a child, I hated this, though looking back, I can’t say I didn’t end up enjoying the lesson. She would always look at me and say, “I’m not going to force you, because if you don’t put your heart into the work your doing, then you won’t do the job completely.” When I was younger I would think her comment was just a way to guilt me into doing a better job, but now I understand what she was saying. Its important to set your priorities, and when you do, you need to not only complete them, but conduct the work with your full attention and your 150%. Like my grandma taught me, I put my heart into my work, and when I complete it and move onto the next task, I’ll have proudly turned in my best work.

Very insightful article, definitely
a lesson that resonates with me. I know from personal experience that the more
I tried to tackle a variety of problems for a project, all at the same time,
the more burned out I would get with the
amount of workload that needed to accomplished. I learned that by just
prioritizing the most fundamental tasks first, like what needs to be organized
or what financial investments are needed;
and working down from there, immensely helps out my workflow in whatever
responsibly I may be tasked with.

Thinking you can do multiple tasks at once is
a good mindset to have for a job and something I might admire if I were a boss
or manager, but it is always good to keep a level head and not overburden yourself
with more than you can handle. Starting out with manageable, high priority
tasks that can be completed, and doing a proper job is more beneficial in the
long term.

I once had a similar experience when I worked in a law firm as an intern. My boss wanted to give me a lot of projects because I was great at doing the work assigned to me in a timely and efficient manner. However, one time they tried to give me work than I could handle. For example, one time I had to do a research project for marketing that took me hours to do but then I was assigned another task where I had to organize a lot of files in our Records Department. In addition to that, I had to do some research for an attorney on a case that she was currently working on. I asked how important it was and she said kind of important and I asked if I could do it the next day and she was fine it. Luckily, I had experience in the Records Department and since I knew if I didn’t do it that day then the work would just build up and I would have to do it the next day but that would annoy all the other people in the office. So I set aside a bit of time to do the filing and then I went back to my research project for marketing. Then the next day I helped the attorney with her case the next day after I had done a good amount of my other work. So this follows how I can prioritize the work assigned to me and complete the work as needed by others.