In the workplace, it pays to sweat the small stuff. Paying attention to the finer details can improve how your colleagues and clients view you. It can also help boost your productivity and efficiency. When you are totally focused on the task at hand, you’re less likely to make errors, saving you time down the road.
Becoming more detail-oriented requires fine-tuning of many different skill sets, according to Devin Tomb, vice president of content and brand at The Muse. For example, to master attention to detail, you’ll need to demonstrate strong observational skills, organizational skills, time management and other skills.
In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share Tomb’s suggestions on nine ways you can improve your attention to detail.
- Get enough sleep. This is Tomb’s top tip for becoming more detail-oriented because it helps you kick off your day with a full tank. When you step away from work for the day, give yourself time to decompress and get a full night of rest.
- Practice meta awareness. This is simply staying aware of what you’re doing as you’re doing it. Instead of mindlessly doing something, like scrolling your phone or checking emails, be in the moment in each specific task.
- Understand your why. This can help you feel more connected to what you’re doing, and when you feel this way, you’re more likely to pay attention.
- Plan your day wisely. Research shows that most people have two peaks during the workday. One usually arrives mid-morning and the other around mid to late afternoon. Tomb recommends identifying your personal attention peaks and using those times for work that requires the most attention to detail.
- Prioritize your top three. People think in threes naturally, so try starting a daily ritual of choosing three main things you want to focus on or accomplish each day. This can help you stay on track with just those things, which can boost your attention to detail.
- Slow down. If you try to zip through your emails and speed up your conversations, you might feel like you’re being more productive, but you’re likely not giving these tasks the attention they need. When you slow down, you can be more deliberate and intentional.
- Don’t give in to distractions. It might take some time, but you can train yourself to push back against distractions like scrolling social media or stopping to chat with a coworker. The more you practice staying focused on the work at hand, the easier it becomes.
- Step away from time to time. Our ability to focus naturally wanes throughout the day. If you feel your eyes starting to glaze over or you realize you skipped lunch, take a break. You’ll come back to your work refreshed.
- Review your work. Whether you’re working on something for your boss, a co-worker or a client, Tomb says it’s a good idea to review it before passing it along.
Learning how to pay attention to detail is an important skill. Whether you work in sales or marketing for a large organization or work as a solopreneur at your own promo business, becoming known as a detail-oriented professional can help you in all aspects of your career.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Devin Tomb is the vice president of content and brand at The Muse and has held top editor roles at Morning Brew, Prevention, Good Housekeeping and SELF.