5 Bad Working Habits to Avoid to Be More Productive

These days, some bad working habits give us the illusion of hard work, but hinder our productivity. If we address those habits, we’ll accomplish more in our everyday lives.

Are you busy, or productive? The general answer is ‘busy’, but the honest answer should be ‘productive’.

Most of us are always busy surfing the internet, checking email, scrolling through Facebook feeds, running errands, and trying to work on several tasks at once. If you are one of them, this article is for you.

Unfortunately, we get less accomplished compared to the work we do throughout the day. How to be productive and get more accomplished in a day? The first step is to find out the cause that is keeping you busy all the time but making you less productive.

In this article, you’ll learn five bad working habits that are hindering your productivity, but you are unaware of them. Knowing how to break those habits and get more done is essential for you.

1. Multitasking

One of the everyday bad working habits in modern life. Multitasking may give the illusion of hard work, but it actually makes us less productive at work.

When you switch between tasks, you are changing your thought process. On average, it takes more than 25 minutes to get back to the main task after an interruption. Research indicates that multitasking leads to a 40% decrease in productivity. It takes 50% more time to complete a task than a non-multitasker, and it increases errors by 50%.

How to get rid of this habit? It isn’t easy in the modern age, but it is doable. Here are a few things you can do:

1. Focus on a single task at a time. Set a timer and continue working on the task until the timer rings.
2. Turn off notifications for email and social media on your computer and smartphone.
3. Avoid distractions. Put away your cell phone while you are working on an important task.

Pro Tip
Keep a notebook and a pen while you are working on a single task. You can note down the tasks and thoughts that come to mind. You can review them after finishing the work at hand

2. Perfectionism

Perfectionism is another productivity killer that hurts your performance at work. It is not bad to strive for perfection, but being a perfectionist all the time can hinder productivity.

When you do unrealistically high-standard work, you tend to fall behind schedule. It results in a pile of unfinished tasks. When things don’t go as you like, you’ll feel unsatisfied with the progress of work. Dissatisfaction leads to procrastination and a lack of motivation.

Here is how you can fix this problem:

1. Focus on time and completion of the task instead of striving for perfection,
2. Use the Pomodoro technique to finish the task.
3. Accept the mistake and learn from it.

3. Impulsive Browsing

Surfing the internet impulsively is the most compelling psychological addiction of the modern age. 

To many people, it is challenging to resist surfing the internet. Many tech habits form due to technology addiction. Here are a few of them:

1. Checking the smartphone too often and unnecessarily.
2. Browsing off-topic articles and social media notifications during working hours.
3. Googling the obscure question that instantly comes to mind.
4. Checking nearby places in the online map instead of using common sense first.
5. Playing with the phone on the bed.

These habits keep you busy all the time without giving you anything in return. An impulsive browsing habit sucks your productive energy and time. Here is how you can overcome this destructive habit.

1. Turn off push notifications of social media and instant messaging apps. Remove Facebook and Twitter apps.
2. Instead of checking email and social media feeds frequently, set a routine for logging in and stick to it.
3. Stop googling anything randomly. Note down the questions that come to mind and search for what is really important for you.
4. Use a tool, such as StayFocused, to block distracting websites and allocate specific time each day to browse designated websites.

4. Avoid Delegation

Delegation is a crucial skill in time management. It is also helpful for better productivity. If you work on your own, you’ll get less time and energy to focus on high-value tasks.

When you delegate some of your work, you can free up more time to handle complex tasks and get more accomplished in a day.

Although delegation boosts productivity, some people fail to delegate effectively, and others are reluctant to do so. There are several reasons for their unwillingness, and a few of the reasons are:

1. Think that the team won’t be able to handle the task.
2. Think that the task is simple enough that they can do it by themselves.
3. They enjoy tasks done by themselves.
4. Fear that someone else may take credit for the work.

How to overcome the fear of delegation? Here are a few things you can do:

1. Get some knowledge on successful delegation.
2. Learn what, when, who, and how to delegate.
3. Build a cohesive and efficient team to accomplish more and meet deadlines.

5. Ignore Automation

If you are not a fan of technology and automation, you are missing out on a time-saving approach. Automation reduces the need for human involvement for a particular task. For example, on Twitter, you have to post four tweets a day for marketing purposes and post a message about an updated post on your blog. If you spend an hour a day doing these types of small tasks, you are wasting a lot of time in a week or a month. Automation enables us to make better use of technology, allowing us to complete tasks more easily.

Here are some ways to include workflow automation in your personal productivity system:

• Automate small and recurring tasks.
• Understand what to automate and what not to.
• Understand the process before going for automation.
• Allow tools according to the type of your work.

Workflow automation might seem complicated or scary, but it is a one-time effort. Once you set up successfully, you can reduce your workload and save time.

To Sum Up

Now you’ve got some ideas of what is making you less productive. If any of these productivity-killing habits match your situation, you can address them immediately to improve your life.