Josh Elledge - Chief Executive Angel
Increase your productivity! Dump these 10 self-sabotages.
(1) Checking email or other communication channels first thing. “But”, you protest, “I have to know if anyone needs something!” No, you don't. Not first thing. Your first priority needs to be figuring out what you need today. Strategize your day, plan out your time, and line up your goals first, then see what you need to accomplish for another and plan that in as well. As a bonus, you'll avoid getting sucked into wasting time on emails that have nothing to do with your goals for today. Save those for during a break or in the evening.
(2) Leaving email and social media open; and keeping notifications on. When you have notifications dinging or popping up, your mind switches from the task you were accomplishing to whatever you're now reading. This steals time in both reading the notification and in having to refocus afterward. Not to mention if you end up switching tasks due to the notification. Mute notifications and close extra tabs until your task is complete.
(3) Switching to a new task before one is completed; and not fiercely guarding your time. Switching tasks when it's not absolutely necessary – sabotages your time and your priorities. Sometimes, to do what really needs doing – you have to ignore other tasks for a while – you just have to make yourself unavailable. What someone else deems important may not fit with your goals for the day. I'm not saying snub people – but I am saying , avoid getting your day high-jacked. The majority of things can wait for a few hours, or even a day.
(4) Lacking boundaries. You say ‘Yes' to too many requests, causing commitment overload and no time to do things important to you. Maintain boundaries so you only take on what is right for you and what fits your current goals.
(5) Trying to multitask the wrong things together. Only combine tasks where one takes little direct thought, and the other takes only a medium amount – such as listening to a podcast while organizing your desk. Trying to multitask together things that require higher focus and brain power only wastes time, causes each to take longer, and often leaves you with half-done tasks; when, had you just focused on them separately, you probably would have accomplished them.
(6) Underestimating or overestimating how long a task will take. Starting a task without enough time to complete it leads to frustration, and actually makes the job take even longer. You lose your momentum, your direction, and your groove. Adjust your schedule and commitments to match reality. Likewise, overestimating can lead to procrastination. Ask for help or search for information online, and get to it. You've probably wasted more time putting it off than it will actually take to complete it.
(7) Not building breaks into your day and managing your energy well. Warning signs of overload include difficulty focusing, being easily irritated, and suffering from emotional outbursts. Schedule periods of rest and re-energizing into each day, just like any other meeting or activity, and keep that appointment with yourself!
(8) Lacking objectivity about the importance of tasks. Some call this poor prioritizing. You struggle to put tasks into an order, because everything seems so urgent and important. Step back from your list, and ask yourself what will realistically completely fall apart if you don't do it today, then tomorrow, and so on. This approach makes everything more manageable, reduces anxiety, and brings things back into perspective – which is that the world will not end because you chose one task over another today.
(9) Not tackling what you dread first – or busy procrastination. You find lesser tasks and make them more important than they really are, so you can justify procrastinating. Instead, hit that thing you dread most in the morning, when you're fresh. The momentum and relief that personal victory gives you is priceless!
(10) Not delegating. Stop trying to do everything yourself. There has to be at least a few things you can let go into someone else's hands – and free yourself for more important tasks.
If you want to learn more about better productivity, I invite you to check out my on-demand Productivity eCourse within SavingsAngel.com's 90 Days to Abundance.
