Productivity tips

Cultivate This Workplace Habit to Boost Confidence

Is your colleague (or boss) driving you bananas? Is the ‘prove yourself monster’ louder than usual? It may be time to implement a routine to create more confidence, and therefore more ease, at work.

Where do you start? An overwhelming number of professionals—66% according to our latest survey—say that they feel more confident after they spend time learning.

Creating more confidence and ease at work isn't a one-and-done investment, but with a consistent routine, it can take only minutes of your time. 

How to fit learning into your day

More than half (52%) of the professionals we surveyed consider learning to be an important part of their self-care routine—right alongside sleep, healthy eating, and exercise.

But don’t mistake “important” for “time-consuming.” Making time to learn doesn't need to be a major commitment. Instead, look for content you can consume in short bursts—we’re talking under five minutes. 

We’re all busy, so set yourself up for success with learning moments that are easy to fit into your day. Like this:

  • On the train, while you commute to and from work

  • During your coffee break 

  • To fill downtime between meetings

  • When a meeting ends early or gets cancelled—fill that “found” time with learning

  • To redirect prime procrastination times—instead of going to the office kitchen, queue up a course!

How do you make a habit stick? Try scheduling time

Sometimes we need to hold our future selves accountable. Try scheduling 10 minutes per week to learn and see what happens. If you have access to LinkedIn Learning, this is easy peasy. Set a goal in the platform, and we’ll help track your progress and be the trusted nudge to help you stay motivated and get that habit to stick.

Get snacking with these bite-sized courses

As the Chinese proverb goes, “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” 

Need some course recommendations to start your habit? Try these bite-sized tips to take small (and mighty!) steps towards growth.

1. Time Management Tips

So how do you find more time for what’s most important...like learning? Tune in for the best productivity boosters, from the simple (Power Tips for Sending Email, 3m 14s) to the big picture (Positive Procrastination, 3m 15s). Time spent here is time management expert approved!

2. Management Tips Weekly

Each video includes two tips to help motivated managers improve relationships, navigate tricky situations, and drive the business forward, like Managing a Multigenerational Workforce (2m 53s) or Keeping A Virtual Team Connected (2m 27s).

3. Personal Effectiveness Tips

Being a strong leader means being willing to develop and manage yourself, and this series of videos guides you down that path. Dig in with learning how to Say No without Alienating People (3m 16s) and Hold Yourself Accountable for Results (2m 38s).

Ready to commit to a full course? You don’t need to learn it all in one sitting. There are always clear stopping points along the way, making it easy to dive in and out of full-course concepts. 

1. Leading with Applied Improv

Ever learned leadership skills from a comedian? Now’s your chance. In the Three Key Principles of Improv video (1m 21s), Izzy Gisell talks about how presence, acceptance, and trust are key improv skills for becoming a natural leader. 

2. High-Stakes Communication

We all find ourselves in high-stakes situations like presenting to executives or asking for a raise. Jenna Lange helps you Manage Your Mindset (3m 41s) to stay cool as a cucumber when these moments arise.

3. Creating Your Personal Brand

This one will get you out of your comfort zone! It’s not easy to put your finger on your personal brand, but Lida Citroën can help get you there with short videos like Defining Your Current Brand (2m 58s) and Creating Your Desired Brand (2m). Your personal brand is your reputation, your legacy, a way to build influence… and it’s well worth tending to. 

4. Professional Networking

Ditch the small talk and fretting about being fake. Former presidential campaign spokeswoman (and introvert) Dorie Clark wants you to succeed at networking by being yourself. Watch The Art of Giving Back (3m 33s) for ideas on how to make yourself useful to contacts in ways that they’ll truly appreciate.

Investing in learning—bite by bite—is investing in yourself. When you build learning into your workplace self-care routine, you’ll be joining the ranks of professionals who use learning to improve in their job, change their mindset, and boost confidence.

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