Tips to make your job less stressful

Assess past year and make tweaks to improve focus — and free time.

Welcome to 2024. Productivity experts say this is a good time to take a moment to reset at work. So take a breath.

The new year offers workers a reference point in which they can evaluate what went well, what went poorly, what they want and how to plan for progress, experts say.

“It’s important to take the time to assess the past year and look forward,” said Jono Luk, vice president of product management at Webex by Cisco. “It’s so easy to jump back to that same clip and pace” you had before.

Making meaningful change doesn’t have to be overwhelming, difficult or massive, experts say. Even small tweaks can make big differences.

“I’m a big believer in making small, incremental changes,” said Joshua Zerkel, a productivity expert and head of global engagement marketing at Asana. “It’s never a good idea to upend everything.”

Here are ways workers can set themselves up for success at the beginning of the year.

Reestablish your boundaries

The pandemic blurred the lines between work and home life in recent years, Luk said, so it might be a good time to reinforce boundaries, which could look like anything from ensuring you have a dedicated workspace to resetting your schedule.

“Share your goals and boundaries with others,” he said. “So something like, ‘If you see me online at 7 p.m., kick me off.’ Others will hold you accountable.”

Articulate your goals

One way to think about your goals is to remember what you’ve accomplished and apply that to what you want to do in the future, said Akhila Satish, CEO of Meseekna, a tech company that uses simulations to aid with talent assessment. Try to make your goals as actionable as possible with small time frames to make them achievable, she said. You may need to gather feedback to help you, said Anita Williams Woolley, professor and associate dean of research at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. She also suggests spending a little time every day or week to review your activities and align them with your goals.

“Be intentional and specific on what you need to be doing so you make progress,” she said.

Assess your priorities

What’s urgent may not always be what’s important, Woolley said, so make sure you understand your priorities. Once you’ve done that, you can map out specifically what you plan to do and repeat until you create new habits. That may look like adding calendar items to block out time.

Communicate intentions

Make your commitments and intentions for the year known, experts say. Sharing your thoughts may be helpful for the rest of your team, who may have input or need to adjust their expectations. “It might reduce the number of things that could derail you,” Woolley said. “And if you make a public commitment, you’re more likely to do it.”

Find your balance

Consider how you spend the 168 hours that you get every week, said Harry Kraemer, clinical professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Break down the percentage of time you want to spend across six areas: career and continuous education, family and friends, spiritual and religious perspectives, health, fun and social responsibility. Then compare that with how much time you’re actually spending and adjust accordingly, he said.

Leverage digital tools

Saving time might be as simple as copying and pasting a commonly needed email response from your laptop’s notepad, Satish said. But are there other programs or ways you can digitize small tasks to improve your workflow? Zerkel said you might even need to reduce your digital tool set to be more effective. Instead of working out of your inbox, for example, there might be a work management system that makes more sense for teams to use on specific projects.

Adjust your notifications

If you’ve been working with default notification settings on your devices and apps, you’re probably getting hit all day with distractions, Zerkel said. Satish suggests setting focus and work mode settings on iPhones and Android devices to filter out noise.

Organize and archive

You should organize not only your physical workspace, but also your digital one, experts say. That means cleaning up your desktop, moving icons for apps or documents you regularly need to convenient spots, archiving projects and organizing your email, Woolley said.

DREAMSTIME/TNS Making meaningful change doesn’t have to be overwhelming or difficult, experts say. Even small tweaks can make big differences and set you up for success.