The working world is a fierce and competitive one. You are feeling out of your depth in your job, and because you do not have a Matric you feel unprepared in your work environment. Not everybody gets to write Matric, and of those that do write Matric over 50% fail. So you are not the only one. Do not panic. Everyone learns at a different pace, and there are ways for you to advance your career, while still keep your job. Let’s explore some of those options so that you can excel at work.

Get Qualified

Just because you do not have a Matric does not mean that you can not get a qualification. There are courses you can take to improve your skills, and the good news is that you can do these courses from home. So you can keep working while you study.  First, you will need to find a course that is relevant to your job. Check out these courses to see which one is right for you.

Once you have started studying not only will your boss see that you are committed to your career, you will start to learn how to overcome the problems that you were struggling with before. You will also learn new techniques that will make your job easier from day to day. This is the best way to get your head around your work. With advice and guidance from course experts, you will not have to feel embarrassed or overwhelmed at your job anymore.

Communicate With Your Manager

You do not need to suffer in silence if you are struggling at work, your manager wants you to communicate with them, and if you are having trouble they need to know. They have a lot of experience and if you take the time to share with them what your difficulties are,  they can give you advice and suggest some practical ideas about what might help.  For instance, maybe more realistic deadlines are needed, or you need more training or the ability to work from home occasionally – the only way your manager will know about this is if you can communicate it to them. Another benefit of talking to your manager is that should you require further training then they can maybe convince the company to pay for your studies – which will save you bucks and get you qualified.

Learn To Schedule Your Work Well

Learning to schedule your work will help you stay on track and get work done. Sometimes you need to ask yourself “Is this really necessary?” and usually, the answer is “Yes, but not right now.” Getting stuff done is fine, but getting the right stuff done is what really matters. Schedule your most important tasks first. What is the most important thing you need to do today? The same is true if an urgent task arises, you should immediately reset your calendar and reprioritise. Determine what are priorities are and where they need to fit in. Why would you work on less important tasks when the truly important items are where you creating the most value.  Something else to remember is that everyone is individual and that means that we all work differently. Some people like to get all their work done first thing in the morning, while others like to start the day by reflecting, meditating, thinking and planning. There is no wrong way – unless you are not achieving your goals.  Understanding your personal work process is key to getting on top of your schedule,  and that means, not just how you like to work, but also how you work best. New circumstances will always arise during the day and you won’t always be able to stick to your plan, but at least when that does happen you will always have a plan to return to.

Get Rid Of Distractions

Are you on Facebook all day? Do you promise yourself that you will check out one more article before you start your next task, but then 30 minutes later you are suddendly reading about something else entirely? Are you making plans with your friends for the weekend when you should be meeting a deadline. Ditch those distarctions today! Plan your day in advance think about what you want to achieve in a day and how you will make that happen. Write down what things need to get done or what you want to accomplish. Setting goals is one of the best ways to stay on track. Put your phone away and keep social media apps off your computer – these are just too much tempation and can waste hours of work time daily. Remember if you want to be successful at your job you need to get the work done. Your manager or boss will notice if you are not up to scratch and it could cost you a promotion or even your job.

Be A Team Player

An important skills to develop in order to be successful at work is to learn how to work as part of a team. No one is an island and if you work for a business you most certainly do not work in isolation. Being part of a team is critical in overcoming difficulties at work. Your collegues might be able to help you if you are stuck, or have good ideas on how to overcome obstacles. If you can communicate clearly with your co-workers you can  avoid misunderstandings, promotes workplace morale and helps projects get done more quickly.Many workers fail to get their work done not because they are lazy, but because they did not fully understand the work they were supposed to be doing. Make sure that you understand what the team expects of you by getting clarification on your responsibilities when you are not completely certain, and work your way to career success.

Last updated: November 8th 2016