4 habits that hurt productivity, and how to get rid of them

We did not even notice how some habits are destroying our lives. Lack of organization, the desire to take on all things at once, and the desire to immediately respond to messages severely undermine our productivity.

1. Write messages every five minutes

On average, we spend four hours a day, doing something on the phone, and during that time we send about 85 messagesHow Many Texts Do People Send Every Day?. Sounds pretty scary. And every time we respond to a message, we will dissipate attention and harm their productivity.

What to do

Turn off notifications for new messages, not to be distracted every five minutes. Or try not to check your phone for a certain time, such as hours. So you'll be less to break away from the current case.

2. Often say "yes"

If all agree and undertake several things at once, you are not one of them do not perform efficiently. Because of this, you will not have time to do a really interesting challenge when it appears.

What to do

When you offer a new project, do not rush to say "yes"

3. Disorganized conduct business

It was nice to think that the mess in the workplace - a sign of genius. But in fact it hurts productivity, because you constantly have to jump from one to the other and remember the reasons you left off.

What to do

Perform physical and digital cleaning. Consider how you allocate your tasks, and how to keep up with them. Try tools for project management (Basecamp, Trello, Asana), As well as to create notes and lists (Evernote, Dropbox Paper). Dismantle all your tasks and distribute them in order of importance.

4. Live without routine

Mail, meetings and other unplanned things take up a lot of time. Of course, there is a case from which no escape. But controlling the tasks in your power, you can greatly simplify your work, and cease to be nervous.

What to do

Spend half an hour in the evening to plan tomorrow. Check your email, make a to-do list, calendar, store in the necessary meetings. If you do not want to do it every day, take the time on Sunday and plan for the whole week. So you'll know exactly what takes your time. And if you happen something unexpected, you are at least easy to see what kind of things can be moved.

Remember that whatever you or stopped in the first place need to realize the need for change. This will be the first step towards productivity. Make this step.