7 Productivity Mistakes to Avoid: Boost Efficiency and Achieve More

7 Common Errors to Use for Increased Productivity and thus More

All of us aim to be more effective and have a way of achieving our goals in a certain time frame. But we’re all familiar with everyday pitfalls that do more harm than good to your productivity. Avoid these 7 common mistakes to work smarter, not harder:

1. My work suffers when I slip into the world of social media: a world of random notifications

Okay, maybe the constant beeping and buzzing of so many notices from the devices and apps are literally invasive. Research reveals that it takes over twenty minutes to get back on track after a break. Do not use notifications during important working hours; instead, find a time to synchronize with notifications. It means you can sit quietly when you must but remain in the loop at the same time.

2. Poor Time Management

Through time management, you are able to minimize on the losses, which results from lack of time management fully. Make a sure that you apply time management techniques such as time boxing for the day. Schedule activities according to their importance, group activities in categories, and determine with a reasonable amount of accuracy how long tasks will take. Getting back control over your time is effective as it helps to enhance productivity.  

3. Taking on Too Much at Once 

Since working on large projects requires a lot of time and energy, it’s only natural to wish to split those in equal parts and work on many large projects at once. But later studies reveal that our brain cannot really handle multitasking, and so we end up being exhausted and making many mistakes. Pull off one major project at a time and put on hold other minor projects until you complete crucial projects. Do not take up more work if you are busy enough, it shows that you care for your workload.

4. When people become focused on achieving the most perfect results; they may end up being bogged down by those perfect standards

Unfortunately, for many people, such a desire degrades efficiency, not boosting it, as is typically assumed. This can be attributed to proving, perfecting, and overdoing even simple things in a bid to get the best output thus making you fail to complete tasks. Take it easy on yourself and learn to let go of perfection by grounding yourself to deadlines and pondering when good enough really is enough.

5. Shifts Where Employees Are Denied Their Rest Breaks

To work long without taking brakes is not efficient neither is it convenient in this world. Continuing to push for hours on end results in mental fatigue which in essence reduces output quality and productivity. Remember to take brief small intervals in the course of the working day to walk, to stretch limbs, to eat or to regain strength. It assists you to come back to work with focus and not be drained. 

6. What Causes a Person to Skip the Reflection to Improve

Not analyzing what practice is effective in your process as opposed to what hinders it can slow down your productivity. Spend time, ideally about five to ten minutes every week reflecting on how time was utilized and whether there are any efficiencies, or a slower part of business process that can be enhanced. Learn your ‘prime time’ – the times of the day that might suit you more to be most productive. Optimal productivity behavior patterns can be sustainably improved.  

7. Isolating Yourself 

It is true that separating moments help us concentrate and get a great number of things done, but loneliness impacts our body and mind negatively. Schedule time for coordination with others, casual conversation at water cooler and meetings with your team. Connected people also enhance cognitive function, creativity, engagement and job satisfaction.

The fact is that even if we try to eliminate these factors and minimize their impact making minor changes could significantly increase productivity over time. You analyse your individual working activity and consider emerging which aspects may be altered to help you accomplish the tasks. Which of the changes do you want to implement first in order to prevent productivity mistakes?