Be Aware! 3 Things that will Kill your Productivity

For decades, people have fought and struggled with ways to become more productive.  We have become a society that feels everything has to be shoved in as few hours as possible.  We have become the masters of time…  Or, have we?

Productivity is an area that is heavily scrutinized today, especially with so many trying to find the right work-life balance.  As both employers and employees search for the right balance, both often look for ways to increase productivity without upsetting the balance.  After years of research, the following things have been shown to be productivity killers, which you should be aware of.

• When is it ok to check email?  With technology advancing every day, we have found ourselves attached to our email 24/7.  The shift went from arriving at the office early to check our email, to checking email on our smart device all hours of the day and night.  Unfortunately, studies have shown that checking email constantly is actually very unproductive.  When you are constantly checking email, you will find that it is hard to concentrate and finish any task.  It has been recommended that you check email periodically throughout the day.  If you must check it first thing in the morning before even getting out of bed, then do so, but then leave it alone for a few hours while you get ready for your day.  Same is true during the day.  Do not leave your email open, instead check it in between tasks or every couple of hours.  The point is to not look at it constantly every time you hear the email notification, which takes your focus away from your current task, leaving you less productive.
• What is your best schedule?  Employers have realized over the last several years, that allowing their employees to work modified schedules boosts productivity substantially.  Why?  Because everyone works better at different times of the day.  As employees try to find that work-life balance, a piece of that is determining what is the best schedule.  Are you a morning person?  Then working during the morning hours will be more productive for you.  Night owls, do their best work at night.  Determine what time of day you work best and adjust your schedule around that so you are doing your best work during your most productive hours.
• Do you multitask often?  You must accept the fact that most people are not multi-taskers.  In fact, there are few who have the ability to multi-task effectively.  Your productivity will increase when you tackle tasks one at a time.  Concentrate on the task at hand, finish it, then move on to the next.  You will see your productivity increase by doing so.  

As you can see, these three simple things have the ability to kill your productivity, or if you are aware and change them, will boost your productivity.  Try one and see the difference it makes in your productivity.

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