Time Management Tips - How to Avoid Complacency in Your Workplace

Avoiding complacency is often said to be a natural process of development. We all get in the way of our progress at some time or other. Inevitably we will make mistakes and fall short of our objectives. However, the great thing about growing up is that these mistakes can become learning experiences. We learn from our failures and move on to take our next steps forward.


So how do we avoid complacency? The first thing to do is identify the problem. In what area are you seeing your achievements slipping away? What are you doing to stop them from happening? Are there specific strategies you are implementing that you believe are helping to put you where you want to be in less time? What changes should you be making to your approach?

Next you need to put your solutions into action. Once you have formulated a plan of action, it is time to put it into action. There is no point setting goals that you will never see completed because they will simply become unachievable. It is necessary to set realistic goals that will bring about tangible results.

You should also develop a mechanism for monitoring your progress. How are you going to know if your plan is being implemented as it should be? What are the indicators that you should look out for to identify if your actions are being taken to meet your goals? If you spend too much time on trying to achieve your goals without actually doing any of it, then that is not a productive use of your time. There are a number of software applications available that can be used to make this task easy.

Another important factor is to be sure that you are prepared to deal with setbacks and disappointments. You may not always succeed but neither will you accept defeat willingly. This is where patience plays a critical role in maintaining motivation and continuing to push forward regardless of setbacks.

Avoiding complacency is about setting yourself goals that are challenging but doable. Remember that there is never such thing as a finished product so you need to be prepared to experiment and try something new. It is better to have something half-way done than nothing at all. If you give up too soon, you will only be setting yourself up for failure. Instead, set yourself some reasonable goals and keep going until you have reached them.

Complacency is often the result of a lack of follow-through. If you don't feel like taking the next step, then it probably isn't necessary. It is better to commit to the next step then not take any at all.

If you avoid complacency, it will be very difficult to stay motivated. However, if you avoid these symptoms it is certainly possible to get the things done that you need to get done. Take the time to identify those things that are holding you back and put together a good action plan. Once you have done this, you will find that it is much easier to stay motivated and actually complete the tasks that you need to get done.

The second way to avoid complacency is to make sure that you have some sort of structure in place. If you work from a coffee table, or a sofa, this is easy to do. If you work from a desk, more work can be assigned to other members of your team. Create a time schedule so that people know what to do and when. This will give each member of your team a sense of accountability.

You will find that working with a schedule helps you stay on track with what you need to get done. It also keeps you accountable to others and gives you a deadline to meet. Having a deadline will motivate you to complete the work on time and get it done right. As long as there is a deadline you should be able to get it done without much difficulty.

Finally, think about the rewards of working toward your goal. Do you like getting a pat on the back for putting in a lot of effort? A certificate or a prize are nice ways to reward yourself for your efforts. Maybe you could win a prize if you do a good job on your project. Rewarding yourself is a great way to stay motivated to complete the task at hand.


Avoiding complacency will require you to use some time management techniques as well as plan for the future. Stay organized so that you know what is going on at all times. Working toward your goals will be easier to accomplish, and you will be happier with your performance when you do get things right.