It's called work for a reason
These habits destroy productivity
orkers looking to be more productive often underestimate the
detrimental effects of their daily habits. Long-term success is the result of good habits, so if you're guilty of any of these bad behaviors, you need to eliminate them immediately because they are killing your productivity:
Stop incessantly looking at your phone. It instills the terrible habit of distraction. Most of the time, people check their phones at work because they want to avoid thinking. They get confronted with some sort of task or obstacle, and out of impulse they check their phone instead.
Instead, try to catch yourself when your impulse is to reach into your pocket to refresh your email again. There's nothing new there, and even if there is, it can wait.
There are two kinds of listeners at the office. The first one quietly follows what you are saying. He or she is connected to the conversation and is diligently absorbing your words.
The second person sits opposite you and isn't really listening at all. What he or she is doing is entertaining an inner dialogue. He or she is planning what to say next. He or she likely is interrupting as well or messing with his or her cellphone.
Don't be that second person. Listening is an art, and in order to do it well, you need to keep your head clear and be focused on the conversation at hand. Why? Because productivity takes a dive when you have to say: “I'm sorry, I zoned out for a second. What did you say?” It also makes you look bad.
I don't care how amazing you think you are at multitasking. You're not.
If you don't believe me, try taking a sip of water out of a glass with one hand while typing with the other. You'll catch yourself taking a tiny sip and then typing. Or typing and then taking a sip. Multitasking is not doing two things at once. It's trying to do two things really close to each other. And it is never as effective as concentrating on a single task.
People who multitask lack any clear focus on the task at hand. Their attention is divided. So even if they get two things done, neither one of them will be of much quality.
Instead, do one thing at a time or, even better, clump similar tasks together. Look for things that share common elements, find your flow and crank them out. For example: Look at all the emails you have to respond to and devote an hour to answering them. Don't respond to an email, then try to work on a proposal, then call your friend back, and then go back to emails, etc. It will exhaust you.
Too many times, people think they can be productive in environments that are not built for getting things done. They want to feel like they're being productive while at the same time being social. Rarely do the two go hand-in-hand.
Find a quiet space of your own and get to work. When you're done, you can go hang out at the coffee shop.
I find it amusing when people say, “This Sunday, I am going to be so productive,” when they haven't put any time or effort into the thing they need to get done for days or even weeks.
Realize that if you do not sit down prepared, you won't be productive. If you haven't touched your project in weeks, it's going to take you a bit to remember what you need to get done. Or perhaps you've forgotten how to use a certain program or your skills have gotten dull, and it takes you some time to sharpen them again.
Productivity isn't just about the moment; it's about all the moments leading up to that. Your productivity increases over time through consistency. So, make that time so your skills don't get dull and whatever you're working on stays top of mind.
It's astounding to me how many people announce, “Time to grind!” and then, before the sentence has even left their mouths, their eyes are darting to the top right corner of their laptops because an email, a calendar invite and alerts from Facebook and Twitter have popped up.
If you want to get anything of value done, turn off your notifications. They are a distraction and drag your attention away from important matters. You aren't missing a thing if you avoid this trivial stuff for a few hours.
People enjoy vacationing in the middle of nowhere, and they travel the world seeking peace and quiet. But there's a great way to do this, and it won't involve lots of travel or money.
All you have to do is turn off your notifications and few things can disturb you.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
