December Pt.2 - Finish Safe

Welcome to the second week of Look Twice, Act Once for December!

Each year as the holidays near, we are reminded of all the wonderful reasons to work safely each day. But right now, in this short final run up to the end of the year, we know things can be missed because you’re under pressure to finish that last job, or shortcuts might get taken because you want to get out early on a Friday.

These shortcuts, can sometimes lead to avoidable accidents and incidents. Whether that’s because you have something else on your mind – like that holiday you’re about to go on, party plans or planning, Christmas shopping or something else that the silly season can bring with it. Or someone else has these things on their mind, and you’re bearing the brunt of their distraction.

The anticipation of upcoming festivities can distract us from the job at hand. And, these distractions also create elevated accident risk in the workplace due to inattention and complacency, which is why accident rates tend to increase during the holiday season.

We can also find ourselves rushing to complete the scheduled work before the holiday period starts or working additional hours to complete the work, resulting in tiredness and exhaustion.

So what can you do to help you through thee craziness of the festive season? Well, we have a few tips for you:

Make a List (And check it twice)

Make a list of all the things you have to do is a great way to ascertain what you need to do for the day, and also organize your time during the day. This is so you know what you need to do, what you need to complete, and roughly how much time every task will take. It’s also a great tool to use if someone attempts (CHR5TM4S) to rush you – so you can be secure in your own mind as to what you need to do to complete work safely for the day. By taking the extra few moments to plan and review each task and to complete risk assessments we can keep our minds focused and aware of our surroundings.

Have “Hours of Power”

A great way to ensure you get things done is to switch off distractions for an hour at a time, and rip into what you are doing. So that means, keep your phone away from you for an hour, and just focus on the task at hand. If you do this just four times a day, you’ll get more work done, and feel better at the end of the day that you don’t have to cram a bunch of work into the last 15 minutes.

Don’t be afraid to knock back work

Sometimes you can’t do this – but if you’re overworked and you think it’ll be unsafe for you to do that volume of work in that space of time – you can always suggest someone else does the new task. You can also ask for help – there’s nothing wrong with that. Stressing yourself out because you haven’t finished a particular job is not worth it, and getting the job completed safely is paramount.

What we’re saying is, we know it can be a hectic time of year – just slow down, think about what you’re doing, and you’ll be stood around the barbie with your mates before you know it.

Let’s finish 2022 safely and start fresh and focused in 2023.