It is never the wrong time to examine how you can adjust your habits, learn new habits, or kick bad habits to get more done and feel more engaged at work. Research shows that the average person will spend approximately 90,000 hours, one-third of their life, at work during their lifetime. While your productivity and happiness will ebb and flow, you can adopt some simple habits that will increase the value you bring to work and give you a greater sense of fulfillment.

Improving your efficiency and finding more joy in your work goes beyond looking for ways to work smarter. 

You need to begin with joy. What you do in the morning can set the tone for your entire day. You should try spending at least five minutes doing something that makes you happy, whether that is sipping a cup of coffee or reading a few pages of a book. 

You need to slow down. Remember that you do not need to instantly respond to every text, email, or meeting invite. When you give yourself time to reply, you are also training other people not to expect an immediate response from you. 

You should start with the difficult tasks. If you want to get better at your job and relieve stress down the line, work on the hard stuff first. You will feel more in control when you chip away at the onerous tasks instead of leaving them to the end of the day when you are more drained.

You should say hello to a colleague. Remember to take time to make friends at work. Recreate the hallway conversations if working remotely. It will boost your happiness when you can share in the ups and downs of work life with a colleague. There is a  study that shows that 60 percent of employees would stay at a company longer if they had more friends there. 

You should avoid jumping to conclusions. With so much communication occurring virtually, it is easy to misconstrue tone. Instead of immediately taking offense, look to ask better questions. When you can improve your emotional intelligence, you can make going to work much more fulfilling.  

You need to get moving. If you are working from home, you may need to set alarms throughout the day to remind yourself when to take a break and when to shut off your laptop for the day. Take a few minutes several times a day to stand up and stretch or take a short walk.  

Make sure you clean up your workspace. If your desk is cluttered, it makes it harder for your brain to process information. Recognize, there is a difference between “messy” and “cluttered. Spend some time organizing so you can start each day in a tidy and streamlined space. 

You need to stop the scroll. All too often, a quick scan on Facebook or Twitter leads to 30 minutes of mindless scrolling. To reduce distraction, try setting specific times each day to check your personal social media accounts. 

Take the time to serve others. Think about who on your team could use an extra hand. Reach out to that person and you will not only build goodwill, but you will also improve your own mood. 

You should start a gratitude list. Spend a few minutes at the beginning or end of each day to keep a gratitude list. When done regularly, this daily habit will help you feel more optimistic and better able to see all the good in your life. 

 You can improve your performance at work and find more fulfillment in what you do by changing up your daily habits. From tackling the difficult projects first to scaling back on your social media, you can make small changes that will end up making a big impact in your work life. And this will help you thrive.