Five to Thrive 8/26/2019

UMD’s Thriving Workplace Initiative is making the University of Maryland a great place to work by providing tools and support to foster engaged, inclusive and empowered faculty and staff across campus.

Each Monday, its Five to Thrive list offers five strategies crowdsourced from research, experts and our own UMD community to help your workplace thrive.

McKeldin Mall is bustling—it must be the first day of a new semester! Looking to hit the ground running? Now is a great time to set some goals, create a new habit or tweak a routine. Whether it’s at an individual or team level, here are some starting points:

• Focus on one goal before adding another. Research says it takes 90 days to form a new habit. You could have three by the end of the semester!
• Get specific. When making goals, make sure they are specific and measurable—it’s the only way to gauge your progress and figure out the steps to getting there. Instead of saying, “I’m going to participate more in meetings,” say, “I’m going to ask a question and give a comment at each meeting.”
• Tie your new habit to something you already do daily. Want to check in more frequently with colleagues? Drink your morning coffee walking around. If your smartphone is commandeering your day, stash it with your keys.  
• Develop goals as a unit. Whether it’s improving communication, creating unity or devising a method for feedback, getting input—and more importantly, consensus—will increase the odds of success.  
• Allocate time to establish a new routine. Not doing that is the No. 1 reason certain routines don’t stick. If you’re adding something new to your routine, decide what needs to be subtracted to make time for it.