by Stephanie Haywood

Business Skills That Play an Important Role at Home and at Work

When you think of business skills, things like effective communication, number-crunching, and management likely come to mind. However, these are not the only areas where a bit of expertise comes in handy. If you want to get the most done at home and at work, you have to have exceptional task management skills. These might not be exactly what you think. Here are some examples:

Sleeping

Let’s get the most unusual off the list to start. Sleeping may not seem like an important business or task management skill, but it truly is. Leadership Flagship has discussed the importance of sleep for your brain and body before. Essentially, when you get enough rest, your mind can function at its peak and your body has the energy to get through your day. Stop looking at bedtime as the end of your day and consider it an opportunity to recharge and refuel so that you can wake up ready to tackle your most pressing challenges.

Delegation

If you think about any major profession (e.g., doctor, attorney, or teacher), you may see these as one-person-only positions. But the reality is that each has a backup: The doctor has people to prep surgical equipment, the attorney has his paralegals, and the teacher has access to aids and administrative support.

Like these professionals, you should learn to delegate some projects or individual tasks so that you can take care of areas where you are most effective. One example is forming your LLC if you’re a small business owner. Instead of using the time to research state laws, you can outsource this to a formation service to save time and to ensure that your business is structured correctly.

Organization

Being organized means more than just knowing where your pens and papers are on your desk. Understanding how to keep your proverbial ducks in a row means that you are never scrambling at the last minute to find a piece of crucial information to finish a task. However, being a disorganized mess, you may lose up to six hours per week, according to Pingboard. That’s almost an entire day’s worth of work lost when your time is much better spent turning a profit.

Record-keeping

Like being organized, keeping accurate records will help you be more efficient and effective. There is some level of organization involved here, as well, but record-keeping also requires attention to detail. Maintaining accurate and detailed records will ensure you’re never at a loss of information. This will serve you well when it’s time to make decisions about individual projects or business as a whole.

Stress management

Poor leadership, unreasonable workloads, and lack of control over your working environment are all top causes of workplace stress, and these are issues that Dr. Steven Aldana of WellSteps cites in favor of work-based stress management programs. Learning how to manage stress and strain will go a long way toward ensuring your mind is free and clear so that you can take care of problems as they arise. Further, acknowledging stressors and meeting them head-on will keep you from letting your negative emotions at work follow you home.

Ultimately, all of your behaviors and learned skills at work and at home play a factor in your effectiveness and enjoyment of each. Things you may not even consider, such as sleeping and maintaining accurate records, are crucial in your professional success and personal wellness. If you’ve yet to master any of the above, there’s never been a better time than now to try. Learning one skill at a time is perhaps one of the best ways to grow your profession and be a more effective leader when it’s your time to shine.