15 (Flex) Working Habits That Won’t Go Unnoticed

Things can get overwhelming when you're embracing flex work. So, we've put together 15 working habits to help you out — they won't go unnoticed.
Kathryn Leslie
Insights
December 9, 2021
4 minute read

Stand out as you flex work by easily adopting these 15 positive working habits

Everybody works differently, especially in a flex working world. How you organize your day might not work for the next person. It’s important to do your best at starting each day of the week right to maximize the impact you have on your organization. 

Incorporating good working habits into your daily routine will not go unnoticed. They allow you to show your team members and managers that you can work effectively and consistently. Good working habits also yield more productive work allowing you to accomplish more while showcasing this hard work and talent to your organization. Good working habits and high quality work will not only help you succeed, but will also in turn help your colleagues achieve their goals.

We put together 15 working habits that you can incorporate into your routine today.

1. Use your friendly calendar app to glance through your day

First things first, it’s important to know what’s on the radar for the day. The first thing I do every morning is open up my calendar to quickly check what I have going on during the day. A couple things I look for: 

  • The time of my first meeting of the day (so I know when to dress up);
  • If/how many external meetings I have; 
  • Noticeable chunks of meeting-free time, and;
  • The time of my last meeting of the day.

2. Find your morning routine

Once I’ve glanced through my day, I get right to my morning routine (and my favourite part of the day). For me, that’s pouring a hot cup of coffee and putting on my running shoes for my morning movement (usually an outdoor walk or run). Perhaps you also like to get moving first thing in the morning or maybe you’d prefer to stay in and meditate, read your favourite book or cook a hearty breakfast. Whatever a good morning routine looks like for you, do your best to stay consistent with it. The potential stress of your workday can get overwhelming, but do your best to not skip out on this. It’s really helped me achieve a positive work-life balance.

3. Organize and plan your day directly in your calendar app 

Once you're settled and in the right headspace to tackle your day, it's time to organize and plan your day. I do this directly in my calendar. I’ve already glanced at my meetings and free-time during the day, so this is where I outline when I will accomplish certain tasks. My Nook Calendar already outlines priority meetings for me, but in addition to that I like to time block my day in my calendar, reserving time for specific projects, exercise and mental health breaks. 

4. Book your workspace

If it’s not already done, I like to let my team know where I’ll be working for the day by booking my workspace. I use Nook to do this as it allows me to quickly book my spot in the office or at home. This is a really important step that I’ve incorporated into my daily routine. My colleagues adjust their workspace for the day depending on where I’ll be, and vice versa. If I’m heading to the office, they might choose to join me to collaborate in person. It’s a simple and easy way to optimize team productivity, success and happiness.

5. Clean your work area

In the flex working world, this could mean your home office setup or your spot in the actual office. Regardless of the location, take the time to clean your workspace, organize your laptop and notes and create an environment that will allow you to focus throughout the day.

6. Communicate goals with your team

I’m lucky to work with such a close-knit team. So, part of my morning work routine is to connect with my close colleagues and share my goals for the day. This keeps me organized, allows them to also share their goals and gives us the opportunity to hold each other accountable. Transparent communication within teams makes a huge difference.

7. Find a working technique that keeps you focused

I’d highly recommend finding a technique that will help keep you focused throughout the day. I use the pomodoro technique. This helps me avoid distractions and manage my time during the day. The way it works is that you work focused and uninterrupted for a 25 minute interval, followed by a 5 minute break. After 4 cycles, I take a 15-30 minute break. Even on my busiest days, this keeps me on task and productive while doing so. Now, this might not be feasible for you, and that’s okay. Find what works for you and do your best to stick with it.

8. Always be on time

In the flex working world, it can be easy to get sidetracked and distracted throughout the day. But, the easiest way to stand out to your team and management is to always be punctual. As you’re glancing over your day in the morning, take a mental note of your meeting start times. Then, be sure to show up to those meetings on time, and a couple minutes early if possible. Whether you’re walking into a boardroom or signing onto a Zoom call, be sure you’re prepared and punctual — it will go a long way.

9. Take time to decompress mid-day

Whether that’s to make a nutritious lunch, watch your favourite Netflix show for 20 minutes or head outside for a lunchtime walk — make time for it. Our days get busy and stressful, so making time for yourself and your wellbeing is important. Going into the afternoon with a refreshed mind will yield better work outcomes than if you jam-pack your day with work and avoid time to decompress. 

10. Don’t overcommit

When trying to stand out or perform at work, employees often overcommit. However, it’s important to remember that oftentimes tasks and projects take longer than expected — things come up, other tasks get in the way or you get scheduled into an extra meeting you weren’t expecting. By committing to what’s feasible for you, you’ll feel less stressed at work and will likely be able to accomplish higher-quality work in less time.

11. Provide positive and constructive feedback

Providing feedback, both positive and constructive, can have incredibly positive effects on teams at work and an individual’s professional development. It’s important to let your colleagues know what they’re great at and praise them for the impact they are making at your organization. But, it’s also important to provide constructive feedback when necessary. People often don’t realize when they are making a mistake or when they can improve on something. Constructive feedback is the first step to improvement.

12. Ask for help

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or support when you need it. It’s better to admit that you’ve made a mistake or that you don’t 100% know how to do something than to do it partially or incorrectly and slow your team or organization’s progress down.

13. Connect with your team 

We spend a lot of time at work with our colleagues. Make an effort to connect with your team personally, yet professionally. After all, we are all humans and this added human touch can really improve someone’s day. So, check in with your colleagues, ask them how they’re doing and don’t feel like you can only talk about work with them.

14. Note your daily accomplishments

At the end of the day, take 5 minutes to jot down the top three things you’ve accomplished during the day. This contributes to your personal development and allows you to regularly recognize the impact you are making at your organization.

15. Log off

When your day is over, do your best to log off from work. Put your laptop away and spend time doing things that make you happy. You’ll be ready to tackle the next thing on your to-do list in the morning. 

If these 15 working habits are overwhelming, start by incorporating two or three of them into your daily routine. When you put in the effort to have positive working habits, your team members and managers will notice the positive outcome. Plus, they will make you feel more balanced and productive at work. 

Whether you’re a sales superstar, in-demand consultant, busy recruiter, or someone who simply needs to schedule a lot of meetings, one thing’s for sure—you’ve probably booked a lot of them over the past two years.

Hybrid work has forced the majority of our meetings online, and while we appreciate being able to wear sweatpants during normal work hours, the time-consuming ballet that is sharing your availability, finding a time to meet, and adding it to your calendar isn’t quite as enjoyable. 

Speaking with everyone from solopreneurs to seasoned professionals, it seems like a lot of people find meeting scheduling software either costly, impersonal, or just plain boring. And Calendly and other alternatives don’t always cut it.

We hear you. 

Everyone is different, and so is how they work. Making good first impressions is important, and you shouldn’t have to pay a premium for them or basic customizations and integrations with your meeting booking system.

Nook Calendar’s meeting proposal feature is already used by tons of high-performing teams for selecting and proposing meeting times outside of their organization. 

Now, we’re making things even easier by letting you build personal pages with shareable calendar-booking links, right in Nook Calendar. Add them to your LinkedIn profile, email signature, website, or messages when finding a time to meet.

We think it’s the best meeting scheduling software out there, and we’re excited for you to give it a try, so let’s get started.

Here’s How to Set Up a Personal Booking Page in Nook Calendar

First off, if you’re new to Nook Calendar—hello! (If you’re already a Nook user, you can skip ahead.)

You’re going to start by syncing your calendar—either from Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook—and entering your work email address.

Once you approve any necessary permissions, you’ll set up your People Bar. Search for any connections and add the people you interact with the most when scheduling meetings.

From there, you can add any additional calendars you want to see (add your personal one, if you like, to further prevent any overlaps when scheduling meetings), integrate with Zoom (so you can launch calls straight from your calendar), and choose your preferred display setting—select Match OS, Light Mode, or Dark Mode.

Launch Nook Calendar, and you’re ready to set up your online meeting scheduler.

Now, the fun begins

You’re going to start by claiming your unique URL for sharing your meeting availability page. 

Your first name appears by default, but really, it can be anything. We recommend using your full name (e.g., /john-smith).

(You can always change your URL in the future, as long as it’s still available.)

From there, you want to complete your profile. 

Your profile pic is automatically pulled in from your Microsoft or GCal account.

But you can add your name, job title, welcome message, and links to social media profiles or professional website, so guests know a bit more about you when booking a meeting. 

Then, you can start setting your weekly availability.

Nook Calendar defaults to traditional time blocks—9–12 a.m. and 1–5 p.m. These are the hours someone can book a meeting from your personal page. Adjust them based on your availability. 

Your timezone is automatically set to your local time, but you can change it if you primarily work with people in a different timezone and it’s better to visualize that when setting your availability.

Choose which calendar you want to accept meetings in—it can only be booked in one, but Nook Calendar will automatically reference your availability in other calendars you’ve synced to prevent double-bookings when someone schedules a meeting.

Now, it’s time to set up some paramaters. 

You can set up your preferred meeting duration in either 15, 30, 45-minute or one-hour increments (or a custom time).

You can also add buffer time to give yourself a break between meetings, or set a lead time of up to 24 hours, so no one can book any last-minute meetings.

And you’re all set! You can preview what the page will look like, then share it with contacts or add it to your LinkedIn profile (we suggest adding it as a secondary URL), email signature, and anywhere else you do business.

Once someone books time in your calendar, you’ll receive an email and get a notification in the Pulse.

If you ever need to make any changes, you can access your personal meeting page in the bottom of the Magic Panel and make any adjustments—either to your weekly availability or personal information.

You can also remove your availability by simply creating events in Nook Calendar and marking them as Busy to block off time and prevent any bookings.

Nook Calendar’s new personal pages for sharing meeting availability are available on Web, iOS, and Android. 
If you have any questions or thoughts, we’d love to hear them. Hit us up in our Slack Community or contact us through Support.  
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