I’ll just start this off by saying — I can’t take credit for all of this. I’ve had the privilege of working with some extremely talented people in my career. Professionals in the nonprofit industry, and experts in energy management, facility operations, retail logistics, as well as data science. Some mentored me, others challenged me. But all of them helped shape how I approach business problems and inspired most of my work habits.

Early in my tech career (2017, or so), when I decided to pivot from “professionally-confused-young-adult” to data science, I thought the path forward was obvious: get good at tech tools, master programming languages, collect certifications like gym badges. I binge-watched YouTube tutorials and read through books, blogs, Reddit threads, and every forum I could find.

During that time something inside me just felt off. I wasn’t satisfied clocking in and out of my 9–5 desk job. There were many days I’d commute home thinking my role had no real sense of impact or growth. I wanted more — I wanted to accelerate. I wanted to become the subject matter expert. I wanted to work with the best.

I needed to contribute something meaningful.

So I kept learning everything I could, hoping someone, somewhere, would eventually notice. I’ll spoil the ending for you: that approach didn’t quite work.

What did work were these 3 simple habits. They didn’t just help me be a better data professional, they sharpened my thinking in ways that carried over into other parts of my life as well.

Some of the greatest minds I’ve worked with didn’t only answer the questions they’re given — they discovered the ones no one’s asking. They uncovered areas in the business where people had not explored and then established value there.

Businesses are run by people — and people aren’t perfect. Metrics go unnoticed and teams get in the habit of tracking low hanging fruit. Just because something isn’t highlighted in a meeting or report doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. Assuming you work in an environment that values innovation (red flag if not) — that’s where you can come in.

If everyone is looking right — check out what’s on the left. Maybe the sales team is focused on revenue, but no one’s digging into customer churn. Maybe marketing knows their email open rates, but not which messages lead to actual conversions. It doesn’t matter how large a company is or how smart the people working in them are, there are gaps; and these gaps are golden opportunities to uncover value.

Finding value involves plenty of effort and communication. Don’t wait to be told what to measure. Go exploring. Shadow departments. Sit in on meetings. Read support tickets. Let curiosity lead you to places where data and decisions aren’t connecting.

Some of the most impactful work comes from these uncharted areas — not because someone asked for it, but because someone noticed the potential and took the initiative to dig into it.

This habit has also translated over to my writing and freelance work. It’s trained my eyes to look for areas that are not being explored, to ask out-of-the-box questions, and uncover added value not just for clients but also for myself.

I used to think feedback came only at performance reviews, or when someone gave a shoutout in a meeting. I treated it like a checkpoint — not something that’s actively sought out. That mindset cost me a lot of time and wasted energy.

Asking for feedback before you’re told to is one of the most underrated habits you can build. To be clear, it’s not about chasing a compliment— it’s about making your work better, more efficient, and it honestly can save a great deal of time.

Every project handoff, dashboard presentation, or email summary is an opportunity to ask:
“Was that helpful with x, y, and z?”
“Did anything seem unclear?”
“What would you like to see different?”

Simple questions like that can reveal gaps in how you’re communicating, how others interpret your work, or whether what you built actually solves a real problem.

Asking early also builds trust. It shows that you’re someone who doesn’t just deliver and disappear. You care about how your work lands. Which can be a pretty rare trait these days. And the more consistently you ask, the more likely people are to want to work with you again.

None of the habits I’ve developed came to me in a flash of insight or a 50% off bootcamp. They came from people. Smart people. Generous people. People who were way better than me at something — and who were happy to share what they knew.

One of the best things you can do for your career — no matter your role — is to find your experts. Seek out the sharpest minds in the room, or just people better than you, and learn from them. Introduce yourself. Ask questions. Volunteer to work on a project with their team. Show curiosity about their corner of the business.

Most people are flattered when someone takes an interest in what they do. And often, the conversations that start with one simple question — “What do you think about this?” — lead to mentorship, collaboration, or a deeper understanding of how the business around you really works.

Experts shorten your learning curve. They help you spot blind spots. And most importantly, they remind you that no matter how much you know, there’s always more to learn.

These three habits did more than just improve my work in data. They changed how I approach problems, how I learn, and how I grow.

I wish I had focused on habits like these earlier in my career, instead of obsessing over tools and technical checklists. But the truth is, no course or certification ever taught me what these habits have: how to think clearly, how to build trust, and how to find direction in messy, complex work.

If you’re growing your career — whether in data or not — and these kinds of lessons resonate with you, I go deeper in my newsletter. I share habits, mental models, and real strategies that helped me level up (and stay sane) over the years.

Originally published on Medium. Adapted to PlotStack.