Staying productive is the key to success. Whether you’re a sole proprietor or the CEO of a Fortune-500 Enterprise, your habits will have a massive impact on your productivity. Yes there will be slow months. Yes there will be times when you feel down. These are the times when it’s arguably the most important to keep pushing forward. While it’s important to develop good habits to help boost productivity it’s equally as important to eliminate the habits that sap your output.
That said, here are three bad habits that are seriously hurting your productivity:
Saying Yes to Every Meeting
Saying yes to every meeting is one of the worst, but most common habits amongst individuals. Whether it’s meeting with a new client or a team update, we schedule tons of meetings throughout the workday. If you’re unsure whether or not you need to be at the meeting it’s common to just join anyway.
The result of that is a ton of wasted time in meetings where you can’t provide value. For example, if you work in tech sales you probably don’t need to be on the heavily detailed integration calls once your lead is closed. Sure it’s nice to get educated, but if you can’t provide your prospect anymore value then your time is best spent elsewhere.
In addition you should try and use an online calendar solution that allows you to block out certain sections of your workday. That way, you don’t have to justify reasons why you can or can’t make certain meetings. Sometimes it’s best just to avoid the conversation all together.
Answering Your Calls and Texts Right Away
Our mobile phones are both the best and worst things for us when it comes to productivity. Yes they allow us to stay connected throughout the day and complete work on the fly. However, while it’s great to always stay connected it can also be troublesome. If you have your mobile device at your desk you should try your best to keep it on silent. The reason for that is many of us like to always answer calls and texts right away. Once you see it it’s hard to avoid.
If your phone is constantly ringing throughout the workday it’ll serve as a constant distraction for you. Keep it on silent and do your best not to answer every call or text right away.
Electronics Before Bed
One of the biggest productivity saps is fatigue. If you’re feeling tired you simply won’t be very productive. Getting a good nights sleep is the key to having a productive workday. Seems like an obvious one right? The thing is, it is obvious – but millions of individuals still have trouble getting a good nights rest.
Sure there are many things to blame, but one of the biggest culprits is electronics. Electronics can severely hurt your sleep cycle. Your bedroom should be limited to rest – try to avoid working, watching tv, or any other work intensive activity in your bedroom. If you’re disciplined about this I can guarantee you’ll begin to get a better night’s rest in no time.
Final Thoughts
Getting rid of bad habits is just as important as developing good ones. When it comes to productivity there are certainly habits that can limit your output. For starters make sure you remove the three habits above from your lifestyle and get out there and hustle!
Renzo Costarella
Renzo Costarella is an entrepreneur, avid learner, and startup enthusiast currently living in Silicon Valley. He consults for several startups in the Bay Area and is pursuing a few ideas of his own.