Ahh, temperatures are rising and summer has officially begun! It’s time again for swimsuits, sun and oh yeah, mid-year reviews.

We all start the year with an idea of goals and resolutions for how we’ll succeed in the work year ahead, but when we get to our mid-year reviews, are we really satisfied?

But even if we’re not where we wanted to be by June, there’s still plenty of time to turn it around and be successful by the end of the year. Here are my tops tips for better execution on your strategic objectives during the remainder of 2015.

Set a New Strategy

If your strategy for the first half of the year wasn’t working, sit down and plan a new strategy for the second half of the year. Work with your fellow managers and employees to ensure your strategy aligns with your business goals.

Take Time to Plan

Spend a few minutes at the beginning of the week to go over your to do list and set small goals for what you want to achieve that week. This will make the workweek more manageable and more fulfilling when you start checking items off your list. You can also add estimated times to each item on your to do list to help with realistic day-to-day time management.

Disconnect

That’s right, go ahead and occasionally put your smartphone, tablet and computer away. You can do this in the office when you’re in meetings or speaking with peers – this shows you’re engaged in conversation and keeps you focused. You can also give yourself a break in the evenings and weekends once in a while and recharge.

Get a Good Nights Rest

Research shows that “40 percent of adults experience daytime sleepiness severe enough to interfere with their daily activities at least a few days each month  --  with 20 percent reporting problem sleepiness a few days a week or more.” Experts recommend a minimum of seven hours of sleep each night.  So, make sure you get yourself to sleep at a decent hour each night, and you’ll see improvements in alertness, memory, creativity and focus during the work day.

Practice Good Communication

So often, we get to work, focus on our projects for the day and go home. Most of our workplace communication comes in the form of IMs or emails, which leave a lot of room for miscommunication. Take some time each day to interact with your coworkers and managers and practice good communication. When speaking, make eye contact with the other person and take pauses to allow that person to respond. When listening, provide nonverbal body language to show you’re interested.

Delegate

It can be hard to let go. Except for maybe you, no one can do it all. But there are still deadlines to meet and it’s important to hit them. If you have a large workload one week, reach out to coworkers and delegate some tasks. You can return the favor the next time!

Exercise

Just as I recently posted, wellness is an important part of workplace success. Give yourself time to exercise a few days a week and it’ll show in your work performance and overall demeanor in the workplace.

Break up the Day

It’s important to take a few breaks and a lunch break throughout the day to refresh so that you can come back to your work more focused. Some experts believe “a 30-second microbreak can increase your productivity up to 13%” and “a 15 second break from staring at your computer screen every ten minutes can reduce your fatigue 50%.”

Show those Pearly Whites

There’s no denying the power of a smile. It takes very little effort, shows people that you’re approachable in the workplace and hopefully puts a smile on their face as well.

These tips will not only help you better meet your goals for your annual review, but they’ll also help you be more fulfilled overall during the work week. How do you achieve success in the workplace – shoot us an email to share your tips!

Check out other blogs to help you succeed in 2015!