Everyone seems to be obsessed with quantified self and increasing their personal productivity these days. This may not sound very encouraging, but the constant pursuit of such crazes can actually prove to be self-defeating and may do more harm than good.
Being productive is great, but the compulsive aspect is problematic and faulty. Time is, in fact, the most precious asset that you possess. There are no shortcuts in life and here are some of the things that people tend to waste in the name of time management.
1Searching for a 4-hour workweek
There is no point to outsource non-critical activities so you have time for what matters. Just ensure that you don’t take it too far or you will end up chasing a frivolous myth. Ultimately, you get out what you put in.
2Vain efforts to multi-task
Unless you are waiting for something terribly important, the reason you respond quickly to your phone or inbox is just because it feels good. It makes you feel important, wanted and needed. The intelligent thing to do would be to put off the ringer on your phone and the volume of your computer while working.
This is the kind of thing that comes out of common sense, and not some time management book.
3Messy desks
Your desk doesn’t have to look like it’s been hit with a cyclone to make you look like a hard working person. If it’s not organised, it leads to chaos and reduces productivity.
4Be an early morning person
This is just another one of those things. It is really up to different people and their preferences. There are some people who don’t even have a coherent thought before noon. So people who profess being an early morning person in the garb of time management is a sham.
5Working on things that don’t excite you
If work stops being fun, you should quit and do something else. Another option is to mix some work with pleasure. The hours may be long but they are quite satisfying and relatively low stress. Always work as hard as you have to, in order to get the job done. This philosophy has served lots of people well.
6Doing what everyone else is doing
Apart from societal peer pressure, there is an addictive aspect die to neurotransmitters in your brain that reinforce certain behavior. Doing what everyone else is doing is useless and insidious.
The achievers know how to use their time effectively and avoid the most common mistakes that most of others fall prey to.
There are some mistakes that you could avoid and maximise your productivity with time.
- Miscommunication is a serious waste of time.
- Unclear priorities and work performance.
- Ineffective delegation and poor management.
- Unclear lines of authority.
- Incomplete information.
- Aimless or very frequent meetings.
- Lack of clarity concerning your job.