At Madden, many of our Craftsmen are at the top of their game, with talents that are so unique and high quality that they’re practically an art form. If you’re new to the trades, you might be wonder how you can become that good. The answer is right now! The primary differences between amateurs and professionals comes down to mindset and behaviors that you can assume now. Here’s how to become a professional craftsman:
Take consistent action.
Inspiration follows action, not the other way around. If you take action, even when you don’t feel like it, the inspiration will come! That’s why craftsmen who make the effort to do the work will experience much more inspiration than those who wait for the inspiration before they get going. If you want to become a true professional, do the work first.
Create a routine, and stick to it.
When you set a schedule for your day and week, it frees your mind of having to organize your tasks, and allows you to focus on the work and improving your skills. It’s easier to jump into your action because it becomes more automatic. And be consistent – even with events and life changes. The more artistic your craft is, the more a business-like approach will help, so make your art and creativity a habit.
Practice your drills.
Drilling exercises, like you do when learning an instrument or sport, are a crucial way to improve your craft. Running a sequence over and over will get the skills ingrained into your mind and muscles so that you don’t have to think about it any more. And the good news is that drilling fundamental skills is usually only necessary for a limited period of time. Put in a lot of effort within a short amount of time until it becomes natural, and then you can move onto the next level of skills to build.
Use rituals.
Rituals signal to the brain that it’s time to get to work. But they also help give you confidence! Like making the bed in the morning, this small win and sense of accomplishment gives spills over into the bigger tasks you have for the rest of the day. And studies show that rituals also help reduce anxiety and help you become more resilient to failures when things go wrong.
Focus on improving.
Professionals focus more on improving rather than achieving. They know that when you show up and do the work, you will become better. They tend to set habit goals rather than outcome goals, because they know that the results they want will come with consistent action. So set small achievable goals, such as practicing your new skill for 15 minutes a day, and you’ll cultivate your talents and knowledge over time.
Act as if.
Become a professional by shifting your identity to be so. Once you take on this responsibility, your actions and habits will follow. Then you’ll simply be proving to yourself that you are indeed the professional you want to be.
Adopting the values of a professional will help you master any area of your life. Madden also has an apprenticeship program if you have little or no experience in the trades, but would like to earn money while you learn on the job! Learn more by calling Madden Industrial Staffing today.
