Kicking it up a Notch (AKA Being a Better You) in 2025

Ok, so it’s 2025. The decorations are down—or should be soon before that Christmas tree becomes a Valentine’s fire hazard—and you’re finally getting situated after the mid-week holidays of 2024. (For the record, Christmas and NYE on a Tuesday = silly.)

Instead of sliding into the new year in stretchy pants and residual dehydration, consider taking a minute of introspection. With a little mindfulness (and a trio of monkeys), you can become a better co-worker, communicator, employee, and better YOU.

See No Evil 🙈

Do your part, pull your weight, eat your veggies, pick up your dirty laundry. We should all make sure we haven’t gotten lazy in those small, everyday tasks which make interacting with other humans tolerable. Keep your workstation and computer desktop organized, answer every email or voicemail even if it’s just to say ‘Let me look into that and get back to you.’ Don’t go looking for flaws in others or falling victim to a Chicken Little mindset with constructive criticism.

There are a million signs, mugs, and sweatshirts with cloyingly helpful sayings on them. Annoying as they can be en masse, there’s usually a grain of truth amidst the hashtags and poor font choices. Be kind, don’t assume you know what another person’s going through at home. Be polite. Hydrate. Don’t micromanage your coworkers (unless that’s a specific job requirement). Don’t be a bully or a passive-aggressive fake-smiling meanie.

Hear No Evil 🙉

Be an active listener. This one’s good for 101% of all your relationships in life, ever. Unless you’re interacting with a goldfish, active listening should be job #1. Give the other person 1) your undivided attention and 2) ask questions afterwards, without interrupting.

Some life-coach types will add in a third step of reiterating what you heard back to the speaker to make sure you’re on the same page. But like their advice of ‘use the other person’s first name a LOT to make them feel important’ and ‘prolonged eye-contact shows you’re really invested,’ it comes off as borderline creepy. Just be present and in the conversation, that’s all folks really want. Consider closing with ‘Let me know how that goes’ or ‘If you need any help working through the details, let me know!’

Speak No Evil 🙊

When sending thoughts via work email, chat, text, or even group presentation, take a mental step back for juuuuuuuust a second. Remember that this isn’t after-hours-with-the-gang, so avoid casual abbreviations or phrasing found anywhere on Urban Dictionary (#IYKYK). Instead stick to messages which could be clearly read and understood by your grandma, for example. She’s the rubber duck you didn’t know you needed.

Industry folks will whack you over the head with communication C’s. Some say five (clarity, conciseness, coherence, completeness, and courtesy), some say seven (clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous), I say one. Be cool and it’ll all work out. Collaborative ideas should start out very short; consider using bullet points to get ideas across. Avoid too much jargon or work slang and PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD.

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The nice thing about taking a moment of mindfulness this new year is that it’s win/win. You may realize there are a few small (or not so small) issues and fix them. Hooray! Or you may decide that things are going better than you thought so zero homework. Hooray! Or you may decide life’s just meh and it’s time to mix things up by looking for a new job or promotion within your current company. Also hooray because you deserve it!

Don’t get stuck in a rut when you can mix your metaphors and shine like a diamond instead. Research shows that “Happy employees are about 13% more productive than their counterparts, according to an Oxford study. They’re also more likely to be mentally sharp and innovative, which increases productivity and lays the groundwork for innovation in the workplace. Happiness is crucial for company culture. Happy employees are also more likely to work harmoniously, fostering a positive and collaborative workplace where people are excited to solve problems together.”

When you like your job, the study shows you’re more likely to stay with the company, less likely to skip work, and have a healthier work/life balance overall. So, take a minute with the mindfulness monkeys. Start 2025 off with a recharged attitude for whatever’s around the bend. Because the way things are going so far this year, it’s probably a freakin’ Lavalantula.

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