There are a lot of people talking about what you ought to do to be more productive, or which fancy tools and apps you should use to get more things done. However, there aren’t as many talking about which activities will make you less productive. This article explores some misconceptions that people have and addresses those misconceptions with actionable tips.
Multitasking
Those that do multitasking the most are the worst at it
- Most frequent multitaskers tend to be more impulsive, sensation-seeking, and overconfident
- Productivity is defined as having the power to produce
- Multi-tasking is the opposite of productivity because you are more prone to distractions and have less power
You Don’t Have a Vision
Visualize what you want to accomplish
- Outline the white paper, not outline the entire white paper.
- Write three pages of white paper instead of writing the entire thing in one sitting, which can be much more productive
Not Getting Enough Rest
A recent Harvard study estimated that sleep deprivation costs American companies $63.2 billion a year in lost productivity
- When we get tired, we make mistakes, which means more time and money must be spent on correcting them
- It takes us longer to do things, costing more time & money if we were fully awake
Doing Everything Yourself
Delegate tasks if you don’t like delegating them
- If you’re uncomfortable delegating because you feel you can’t trust people to do the work the way you want to do it, then your distrust is holding you back and making you less productive
- You’re robbing your colleagues of the chance to show what they can do and putting more burden on yourself
