Sometimes making it or breaking it may actually just boil down to habits. What makes people more productive than others are the behaviours they constantly keep. Sounds simple; but in reality, some of us may not know how some seemingly innocuous habits can take reduce our productive time.
So what can be wrong? You may, consciously or unconsciously, be guilty about some of these….
Not Having a System
Winging it everyday? Or do you go about a half-baked way of doing things? For recurring processes, you need a quick and reliable method to process tasks that you do everyday. A system does not need to be complicated. In fact, the simpler it is, the easier it is to get things done.Use your online or organizer’s calendar to give a date and time on whom to call back, tasks to accomplish for the week, what emails to answer, etc. If you can even put a goal time for accomplishing tasks, so much the better.
Make organizing yourself a daily habit. Know what to prioritize for the day and in what order. Making the effort of disciplining yourself toward a more organized workday will pay off loads in increased productivity.
Constantly Chatting, Texting, or Checking Emails
A few minutes of personal chatting or texting now and then may seem to take only miniscule minutes away from your work time; but the reality is, people can actually accumulate a few good hours doing so. When at work, stifle that urge to answer every text, chat, or email notification that pings on your phone or desktop. To help yourself with this, change your status to “Away” or “Offline.” This may help reduce intrusive personal messages that can be handled later.Mixing “Me” Time with “Work” Time
Just 15 minutes of Facebook checking won’t hurt, would it? Not if you spend 15 minutes tops for the day but yes, when you obliviously rack up “Holy @&%$! 45 minutes!” thrice daily. Indeed, it is pretty difficult to keep track of time when we are too absorbed with personal interests. Best to have an alarm for breaks and any “just-a-minute-for-me” activities to jolt you back on that productive wagon; although, it is easy to snooze that annoying ringing when you just need a wee bit more time. The better course of action --- don’t mix your leisure moments in with your work time. It almost never works, unless you can bring yourself to heel in a snap.Relegating Sleep to the Bottom Rung of Priorities
Allowing work to grab some share of your sleeping hours may help you meet your deadline for the next day; but, making it a constant habit of doing so will cost you your productivity, big time. Sleep deprivation is cause for exhaustion, irritability, compromised cognitive abilities, and poor concentration. One short night is doable; two may already be one too many. Compromise your sleep for two weeks and see yourself making preventable errors and accomplishing next to nil.It is vital for the human body to get much needed rest to repair and maintain itself at the cellular level; so, do not try to defy nature by cutting on your sleeping hours. We need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night to feel rested, rejuvenated, and ready to take on the world the next day.
In case you are thinking that coffee is all you need to prop up those peepers, think again. Well, perhaps a cup of java may do the work in the very short term but after that, caffeine may just contribute to stress-induced anxiety, totally counter-productive to work efficiency.
Multitasking All the Time
In the age of multimedia gadgets that promise to make life easier, hey, why not? In disagreement with naysayers on the multitasking issue, it does make sense to do two (or three) things at one time as long as one is smart about doing so. You can listen to a seminar lecture on a podcast while cooking dinner or learn a new language through your earbuds while walking the dog. Multitasking allows you to maximize time in being productive as long as one task is routine or mundane enough to require less focus.What multitasking however does not do is allow you to concentrate on two important tasks at the same time. Faced with two jobs that need focus, doing them both at once can spell disaster or error after error. Firing off an important email while watching a how-to video may cause you to miss important things or make preventable mistakes.
Pick what work to include in your multitasking mix and what tasks you need to focus your undivided attention on.
Not Taking Breaks
You may want to impress your boss with your conscientiousness by forgoing the small talk at the coffee machine during breaks. That hard worker impression however may not last for long when your productivity takes a slide from being on work mode too long. Batteries don’t last forever and even you need a recharge. The purpose behind your company’s regulated breaks is to provide employees some time away from work in order to refresh and renew themselves before taking on their jobs again. In this regard, it is always wise to take advantage of these breaks.Recognising what behaviour hinders your productivity and starting off some modifications on just one or two undesirable habits will definitely show you a significant difference. Tweak bad habits for the better to boost your productivity and working efficiency.
