We, as humans, are creatures of habit.

At home, at work, and even on our most lazy days, we crave our familiar routines that help us get through the day without having to think too much about what we’re actually doing. Get up, shower, eat, go to work, come home, eat, go to sleep… rinse and repeat. Especially in our work life, a comfortable habit is what gets us through the day, letting us complete only as much work is expected of us and be good (but not great) at our jobs.

But why are we fine with just being “good” or “okay”?! Why be comfortable in your daily routine when you could be challenging yourself, pushing boundaries, shaking up your industry or even going after the things that you’re most passionate about? After all, “adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you.”

Stepping outside of your comfort zone in the workplace, reinventing the way you look at your work routine, or simply switching up the order that you complete your daily tasks can help you to be more productive, and can even help to spark creativity.

If you’re ready to say goodbye to the dull work habits that have been holding you back and add a little enjoyment back into the workplace, here are 5 ways to re-up your workflow and break out of your monotonous routine:

RESTART

The way you kick off your work day sets the tone for many things, including how productive you will be, your attitude for the day, and even whether you have a good day or a bad one. Challenge yourself to restart the way you are tackling your day. Most people roll into the office, press play on their latest voicemails and sort through their cluttered inbox.

In reality, this is a terrible way to start the day. Why? It leaves your mind focused on too many miscellaneous tasks instead of letting your main priorities take focus. Instead, start your work day with a quick 10 minute prep session where you map out your goals for the day, your highest list of priorities, and any meetings you have scheduled. This will get you in the most productive mindset.

In addition to using the first 10 minutes of your day to prep yourself for the tasks ahead, it’s also helpful to use the last 10 minutes of your day to prep for the next one, clean off your desk and sort through your email inbox. This will help you start the next day with a clear mind that lets you jump right into your work.

REDESIGN

A lot of the distractions that regularly pop up have to do with the atmosphere you’re working in. For instance, a desk that is cluttered with past-due assignments, empty coffee cups and documents that need to be filed away will only wear you down and make you frustrated.  (Trust me, I’ve been there.)

Redesign your desk or your environment in a way that will help you to work better (and smarter). This means clearing out all of the random crap that piles up on your desk and giving yourself space to sketch out new ideas. You may even find that a change in scenery all together can greatly influence how well you work.

At HI, we have a few different work rooms (including our Alice In Wonderland room ) that help employees escape their desk and let their mind work in a place that doesn’t limit them.

RETHINK

When it comes to kicking off a new work routine, sometimes the best thing you can do is start from scratch and rethink the way you’ve always tackled your work. (Don’t worry, change isn’t always a bad thing!) Take a good, hard look at your previous work methods and ask yourself if they still work best for you. (And just because you already know how to use one program doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the most effective one.)

For instance, is email still the best way for you to communicate with your team, or would something more instant like Skype or Flowdock be more useful? Maybe written word in itself isn’t enough to share your full ideas, and something more visual like Mural.ly is what you need to get your brainstorming going. It’s easy to get caught up in the tools and systems that have always been set in place, but rethinking the way you do things (even if they may initially take a while to learn) can often lead to better results in the long run.

REWRITE

When it comes to starting a new project or launching a new business, don’t follow the traditional rulebook for how things have been done in the past. Instead, rewrite your own rulebook and map out your own way of doing things.

By rewriting and reinventing your industry from the ground up, you will create something that people didn’t even realize they needed. Take our company funeralOne, for example.  When most people think of a funeral, they think of this depressing, awkward thing…Why not transform it into a celebration of life? So we created products that help families celebrate the full scope and personality of a person and put a positive light on the moments they shared together.

funeralOne ended up being the fresh breath of air the funeral profession needed. If I would have stuck to the original rulebook, I would have created just another condolence system on a black and grey funeral home website.

REDO

Many people have a fear of failure or a fear of having to redo something because they got it wrong the first time. Because of this, they tend to stick with what they know, even if it isn’t satisfying them.  But at the end of the day, this fear of failure is only limiting you… Failure is a natural part of growing and becoming better at what you do! Take it from me—it’s much better to fail at something that you think will be great, rather than waste your time with something that is unexciting and is not producing positive results. So don’t be afraid to fail and fail big. Just be ready to redo and try again until you are satisfied.

What do you think are the biggest things you can do to revamp or revitalize your workflow? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Header image source: HQWide