Proactiveness in your Personality

It is easier to define proactiveness than to practice it. The definition of being proactive is getting things done, the requirements notwithstanding. A proactive person is always ready and willing to solve a situation that is potentially negative by acting well in advance.

 In a nutshell, being proactive require someone to be aware, highly-disciplined, and future-oriented. The following are characteristics of proactive people:

                                    1. Practices Awareness

                                    2. Plans Ahead

                                    3. Takes Initiative

Why is Proactivity Important?

Why do you have to be proactive?  Instead of being proactive, why not live your life the way it comes? What is interesting is that the scenarios mentioned above are not necessarily exclusive of one another. Life can be full of surprises, and so is your typical day at work.

We do not dispute that adaptability is necessary, but we can all agree that being proactive has many benefits; chief among them is being a stronger leader. When you become more proactive in life, you can take charge of areas that you can impact positive change. This, in turn, influences change and leads to diminished stress.

I liked what Haley Gray of Leadership Girl stated in her article, Be Proactive, that is especially fitting as we enter the Christmas season, “By being proactive, I’ve learned that Christmas can be a very fun time of year, that is spent with my family, focusing on the real reason for the season, rather than tearing around like a crazy woman trying to get everything together.”

 Besides, one of the advantages of being proactive is that you will send a message to other people that you are hell-bent on succeeding, and you will work extremely hard to make that happen.

Any person that makes well-thought-out plans well in advance and embraces Proactivity is usually in high demand by bosses and employers. By being proactive, this also shows that you have the well-being of other people in mind, not just your own.

The moment you plan your day so that you can bring positive change to people in your care, it can never go unnoticed.

Proactiveness Tips and Tricks

Now that we know that being proactive can be a tipping point, how do we go about it? There is a wide array of invaluable tips to adopt, and you can go the extra mile and ask for ideas from people who advocate for Proactivity. Let’s cut to the chase and check out some 4 pointers on how to be more proactive.

1.      Introduce Habits and Check-ups

In every way you look at being proactive, it always revolves around the issue of time management. Begin giving priority to the essential matters by developing a schedule that allocates them extra time.

 For instance, if you need to forge a business relationship, call up the person and agree on monthly meetings. Another example would be to can plan to write around 100 pages every week to complete your book. The routines are not only vital in the work setting. If you have not been spending quality time with loved ones, you can set aside some time to do that.

 After your schedules are set, the next step would be to establish periodic checkups or reminders to keep you on track. For the long-term success of the routines, make yourself accountable.

2.      Be Mentally Ready To Tackle Challenges

Let’s say that it is the end of the week, and you have to meet your ‘favorite manager’ to deliver the monthly results. What would be your next move? You can spare some time and mentally prepare for the challenging meeting.

Go somewhere quiet and go through the meeting in your mind while jotting down your ideas. Write down the questions you would probably ask, the information that your boss might need, and your possible answers.

To be honest, this planning might not necessarily result in a successful meeting, but planning in advance and being mentally ready is a great proactive move that can be applied anytime.

3.      Frontloading

This is the reverse of procrastination. Frontloading a project means creating a schedule that demands that you complete most of your work within 50% of the total allocated time for the task.

This means that if you have to complete 20 hours of research in 5 days, you should set aside 5 hours every day for the first three days. Then after that, you can schedule 5 hours for days 4 and 5. What can this achieve? You will complete the tasks way ahead of schedule, thus avoiding last-minute stress and rushing.

In case the tasks take longer than expected, you will still have extra time on your hands to finish without missing the set deadline. Though this idea might not work for every person, it is a great way to be proactive.

4.      Emphasize on Communication

The statistics on how miscommunication or lack of communication has contributed to the loss of your leadership ability is staggering. If it is upon you to communicate, make sure that you don’t delay or divert from the issue at hand.

You can attain proactive communication with just a simple phone call, a well-placed sticky note, or a brief email. On the other hand, make sure that you listen carefully as other people talk instead of multi-tasking.

Another superb way of ensuring that you grasped the communication properly is by summarizing what was communicated to you. To make proactiveness in the workplace a reality, always confirm the communication is brief and precise.

Attaining Proactiveness

To attain proactiveness in your daily activities, you can never go wrong with a proactive mindset. It never hurts to prepare for a likely adverse scenario before it can manifest, and by doing so, the situation can change for the better to make your day successful.

It is in your best interest to always be alert for potential pitfalls and plan techniques for avoiding them. In short, it means that you should act before circumstances force you to move.

In the process of understanding time-management, you will gradually become a better leader and realize a balanced day at work.

Ben Tejes writes for the Ascend and Saved By Cents blog with the goal to help lead people to achieve financial freedom. He covered such financial topics such as Bankruptcy Means Test, Portfolio Recovery and Chapter 13 calculator. When he’s not working, Ben enjoys going on adventures with his wife and three young daughters all over the bay area.

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Leaders that are proactive get more things done and solve problems before they happen. See how proactiveness is the glue to a leader.