You may not have thought about it before, but your daily workday is chock full of life lessons.

Important life lessons constantly present themselves in everyday situations in your business.

From customer service to production to operations, there is a lot to be learned.

What’s the key to uncovering these valuable lessons?

You must stay alert and take your daily experiences to heart.

Below you’ll find five key life lessons you can learn from an ordinary day at work.

The right tools make for swift work.

Have you ever used a broken tool?

It may have been dull, dilapidated, out of date, expired, or archaic, but it sure was frustrating and difficult to use.

And as soon as you replaced that item, your work became smooth and stress-free.

Maybe it’s time to replace that broken printer, jammed stapler, or unreliable lighting fixture.

Perhaps it’s worth looking into a new application, office space, or warehouse.

Make sure you’ve got the right tools on hand so you can do your best work.

Quiet time allows for progress.

Dormant seeds in the field await warmer weather so they can sprout and grow.

Similarly, fallow or quiet time allows us to do just that in our work. Give yourself adequate space to think and grow.

Go ahead and make full use of time from those canceled appointments and meetings.

Block out sufficient time to review, ponder, and dream.

Above all, you should both appreciate and plan for lulls or downtime in your business.

They’re only natural, so you should make the most of these slower times.

The cheap becomes expensive.

While we tend to associate cheapness with money, cheapness can go beyond financial measurement.

It can also mean cheapness with other things we deal with in life, such as time, attention, integrity, and dedication.

Carefully consider where you might be cheapening your approach, experience, or presentation of yourself and your business.

Where are you playing small or holding things back in your work? How can you be more expansive and abundant in your actions?

Kindness matters.

You’ve probably heard the saying, you get back what you put out into the world.

So it’s a good idea to be thoughtful and kind toward other people, including yourself, colleagues, co-workers, clients, and customers.

Kindness doesn’t cost a single cent. What’s more, it’s a gift you can easily share with the world every single day.

All that is required is your intention. Do your best to approach situations with both kindness and calmness.

If you should happen to encounter a stressful situation, step back and take a break.

You only get today.

The present moment is always a place of strength.

What’s more, it is a moment of time that has never existed before, nor will it ever repeat itself.

That’s why it’s so important to take advantage of the great opportunity you have in your hand right now.

Yes, similar circumstances may appear in the future, but there will never be identical situations, circumstances, challenges, or experiences as what you’re experiencing today.

Make the most of today. There’s no need to wait. What you choose to do today is more important than you think.

How about you? Which of these life lessons struck a chord with you? What else can we learn while working at the office? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

This post originally appeared on Inc.com.