Changing your career for the better will take less time than watching a single Game of Thrones series.

Can you imagine the opportunity to make significant professional progress in the same time as it takes to watch one episode of your favorite TV series? Below are four ways to increase the speed of moving up the career ladder, each of which will take only 52 minutes.

A lot can happen in an hour. The heroes of the series fall in love, face unexpected plot twists, or even die. It is likely that one hour will be enough to change for the better in your career development and / or a noticeable increase in productivity .
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Maybe it looks like a fantasy, however, studies show that 52 minutes (approximate length of one episode of “Game of Thrones”) is the optimal time during which you can continuously do one thing. It turns out that 10% of the most efficient employees work on a specific task for exactly this time, after which they take a break.

Below are four ways to increase the speed of moving up the career ladder , each of which will take only 52 minutes. The next time, before you think about watching the next series of the series or a new movie, take time for one of these cases. Do not worry, later you still get the opportunity to reward yourself with an episode of your favorite series (or even two!).

LEAD YOUR PROFILE LINKEDIN

Not a LinkedIn member yet? You miss a reliable and proven opportunity to advertise your services through the Web, as well as acquire invaluable connections with other professionals. Listen to how Samantha Tollin explains why online tools are so helpful, and then spend an hour setting up your own profile.

There are many ways in which you can improve the quality and attractiveness of your page, although no one forbids using a standard profile.

Already have a LinkedIn page? Fine. But again, although you can limit yourself to the usual LinkedIn profile, there are many ways to improve its quality and appearance.

In LinkedIn, there is a system for awarding stars to the most functional pages. What is the use of virtual stars? You will appear more often in search results and get more views from potential employers or clients.
How can LinkedIn be useful? Here are some tips that may be useful to you, although it is not necessary to act on this template exactly:

• Add a photo of your profession and the industry in which you work to the main page. If you are involved in jurisprudence, photography should be as traditional as possible, and for those who work in knowledge-intensive industries, more informal shots from your normal life will do.
• Make as specific and informative a description as possible of the position you currently occupy.
• Add at least two of your previous posts.
• Fill out the education section.
• If you have less than 50 people in contact, try to find former colleagues, classmates or clients.
• In the "Skills" section add information on certifications, professional interests and knowledge.

CONTROL YOUR BEHAVIOR

Often in the news we see how recognized and ambitious professionals are faced with problems resulting from their behavior on the Internet. It comes even to the dismissal or refusal of employment. We are not trying to scare you, but simply consider it our duty to remind you that your behavior on social networks or on other websites can significantly affect your professional activities.

Although this occupation can not be called interesting, but maintaining a good reputation on the Web, as well as the ability to control it, is an important part of the life of a successful professional and demonstrates your maturity and competence.

Take one hour to check your pages carefully. When checking do not forget about the following:

• View your profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and make sure your privacy settings are up to date. On these sites, privacy policies and default settings change quite often, so they should be periodically checked.
• Ensure that all available images on your page are adequate and professional. You can even think about using one avatar on all sites.
• Type your name in the Google search box. If you find content in your search results, try deleting it or changing your privacy settings. If the detected content is out of your control (for example, photos with tags), contact the administration of the resource and politely ask them to be removed.
• Periodically review the rules for using the Internet and social networks in your company to always meet their requirements.

Although constant self-control is not always a pleasure, but maintaining a reputation on the web is necessary if you want to succeed in the professional field. The ability to control one's behavior is a sign of maturity and competence.

BOOK YOUR VISITS TO COURSES OR WORKSHOPS

The famous quotation says that learning is terminated only after the death of a person. It may sound a bit gloomy, but when it comes to career, this statement is an axiom. By adding information about additional training to your resume, you will significantly increase the chances of getting a potential employer. First, you will have confidence in yourself, as you will feel more competent in a particular area, and secondly, your attractiveness as an employee or candidate for the position will increase.

If you have the opportunity to negotiate with the employer about vocational training at the expense of the organization, be sure to take some time to attend scientific conferences, the topics of which correspond to your career plans. Looking for something less useful in your specialty? Currently, a sufficiently large number of conferences have emerged, from which one can draw inspiration to take on new tasks (although a significant part of them is conducted in English, but foreign language is one of the components of success ).

You do not have enough money or time to attend major conferences? Here are some options for free or low-cost courses that will help you improve your professional skills (you can also find a list of 30 useful sites that will help you become much more educated):

• Lynda.com - Offers thousands of video tutorials starting at $ 19.99 per month.
• Toastmasters is a proven and reliable organization with a very low annual payment that helps people improve their speaking skills and the ability to deliver material.
• The US Small Business Administration also offers free online courses on major topics.

MAKE CONTACTS WITH NEW PEOPLE

Although the previous three tasks concerned only individual self-improvement, everyone knows that interpersonal, human relationships can greatly affect work and career. Take time to reach out to your friends who have never used LinkedIn before to search for new contacts.

Keep in mind that all contacts must directly serve your current goals. It is very important to take care in advance of professional recommendations and contacts that will be useful in the future for obtaining a position or promotion. Also need to help other people from your circle Supporting other people, you extend to them your confidence and strength, leadership qualities , which makes it possible to significantly expand the community of your like-minded people.

It is very important to take care of professional recommendations and contacts in advance, which in the future may be useful for obtaining a position or promotion.

Here are a few ideas that may well inspire someone who does not know where to start (you don’t have to follow them exactly; on the contrary, you can indignantly reject them and think of ways you can do better and more efficiently):

• Talk to a former colleague who is busy looking for work, and ask if you can help him get in touch with the right people.
• Offer a cup of coffee to a local social worker.
• Find a recent graduate of your institute or business school and send him a message of congratulations and wishes for success.

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Do you have your own secrets that allow you to change your career for the better in one hour?

PS We recommend another useful article on the work on yourself - you will become the GMAT Master: tips from Star Wars to gain dominance over the test .

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of the TESTutor company