5 Habits I Avoid To Stay Insanely Productive
My “Not-To-Do” List
Productivity isn’t about working for 15+ hours a day. It’s about working on the right things, right now.
The usual human mind, you know. It’s easy to get addicted to social media platforms and be affected by them.
Think of seeing people vacationing to exotic places, and living their best lives while you’re on the train back to home after a long tiring day spent at work. It feels unfair.
You are inadequate and unhappy.
Everywhere you go, read, meet people, all day, you have to do this, you have to do that. You are not being productive, and are bad at time management. I get all of that.
We all have 24 hours a day. Some get to do a lot and some struggle to get things done and wish magically day could become 36 hours.
But even if the day is 36 hours long, you will find that it is still not enough.
“Not-to-do” lists are often more effective than to-do lists for upgrading performance.
The reason is simple: what you do not do determines what you can do.
Doing the important and ignoring the trivial is hard because so much of the world seems to conspire to force crap upon you. Fortunately, a few simple routine changes make bothering you much more painful than leaving you in peace.
After reading 100s of self-books, personal development blogs, and everything, I realized that doing more is not always a good idea.
Sometimes doing less is all you need.
I learned to ask, “if this is the only thing I accomplish today, will I be satisfied with my day?”
Arrive in front of your computer or office with a clear list of your tasks and what you must do to make your day great.
Here are two things to keep in mind:
-> Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
-> Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.
And to do better, be productive, and become relaxed, you need to identify things that have no purpose, or objective in your present and future and stop doing them.
So here is my list of things that you should immediately start avoiding:
1- Do not check your emails constantly
What I observed about myself, I keep checking emails every second and reply immediately. And with back and forth on emails take all of my time with less time to actually accomplish something important.
What to do instead:
- Reading emails at a specified time may be at 10 AM and another is at 03 PM to catch up and reply for half an hour.
- Set reminders every 2 hours for you to sit for 15 minutes and catch up on emails.
2- Do not make your to-do list more than five things in a day
When you use MS Word or Google Docs, you don’t realize how many To-Do’s you are adding to your day.
With zillions of things on the list, I am unable to get the things done that are important because I am focusing on low-key tasks.
What to do instead:
- I use sticky notes for my daily tasks to be precise and on point.
- Write only the top 5 that need your absolute attention and you have to finish them by EOD.
3- Do not let your work define your identity
It took me longer to realize that work is just about working. It doesn’t necessarily means associating your work with your identity. You are not your designation or what level you work at.
Work is not all of your life.
What to do instead:
- Spend time with friends, family, and people you love.
- Schedule life and defend it just as you would an important business meeting. Never tell yourself “I will meet with this friend only on the weekend or any particular day”
- Focus, get the critical few done and get out. Emailing all weekend is no way to spend the little time you have on this planet.
4- Do not carry your phone everywhere you go
How many times in the middle of the meeting do you suddenly pick up the phone and start scrolling through social media or just randomly start playing games. We all have done that.
It’s not productive and it means your attention is nowhere. Because you are losing what is being said in the meeting and with that half attention you are on your phone doing something.
What to do instead:
- When in meetings, leave your phone at your desk or keep it in another room if you are working from home.
- Set a specific timer when not to use certain apps. or turn it off during a specific time in the day to focus on critical tasks/activities you need to do.
- When you are with your family or friends, keep your phone aside and talk to them.
5- Do not let your calendar filled with meetings where are not speaking
Whenever I talk to a team and ask for updates on critical/high-priority tasks, I always get the same response from everyone. I couldn’t get time to finish today as I spent 6 hours in meetings.
and honestly, almost all the meetings are not needed. It’s just someone has added them to the invite, they are joining.
What to do instead: Prioritize.
- That’s the only way you can save your day and time. And I figured out it’s ok to decline meetings where you think you are not needed.
- If someone needs something you can be available on chat or a text message to respond.
- If there is something that can be done over emails, why not. send an email and ask specific questions about what you are looking for.
It’s hip to focus on getting things done, but it’s only possible once we remove the constant static and distraction.
To become more productive, you have to be willing to change the way you think about organizing and completing tasks. It’s a learning process but with establishing a few working practices can help you in a long way.
Be Bold
Be Courageous
Be Your Best
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