Science Has It: You Should Stop Doing These
10 Things To Be More Productive
Want to master the 24
hours you have in each day? Use these scientifically-backed strategies to be
more productive:
1. Stop ignoring your ultradium rhythm!
Every person
experiences a natural lull in productivity after doing an activity for about
90-120 minutes. This period is called the ultradium rhythm, and you shouldn’t
ignore its power. Instead of trying to “push through” mental fatigue, it’s
better to take a break when your ultradium rhythm cycles. Get up,
walk around and do something different for up to 20 minutes.
You may even want to
take a nap, especially if you work for a company that has a napping room or policy as do NASA, AOL
and – not surprisingly – Google. After your break or some power shut-eye, come
back to your original activity with more energy, creativity and focus. Visit classrooms or the playground
2. Stop checking your social media
accounts every hour! NO
Are you one of the
millions of people who keeps his or her social media account live and active on
your smart phone, tablet, laptop or desktop? Doing so presents an attractive
nuisance, and you’ll end up wasting tons of minutes per day watching
cat videos and finding out your second-cousin once removed’s neighbor’s boss
saw a penguin at the zoo. Make a pact with yourself to relegate checking your
social media accounts once or twice per day instead of allowing them to suck
your time.
Spending time with
people as people – and not avatars on a screen – was very useful for one Citrix vice president. He discovered
that relationships made in the “real world” were not only more satisfying than
those made in social media, but that they produced a stronger sense of
supportiveness.
3. Stop saying “yes” to everything and
everyone. -working on distributing leadership and reducing micro-mananagement. Are you a “yes” man or
woman? It’s time to rethink the way you’re responding when you’re asked to do
something. While you can’t always say “no” to your boss, your spouse or your friends,
you are allowed to pick and choose most decisions you make during the day. By
saying “no,” you can avail yourself of the scientifically-based Pareto
Principle. The Pareto Principle claims that 20 percent of efforts produce 80
percent of results. Conversely, 20 percent of results consume 80 percent of
efforts. Spend your 80 percent doing what matters, not what doesn’t.
If this is a difficult
principle for you to adapt, don’t worry – you can always schedule one day a
week to say “yes”. That’s what TED Talks’ guest speaker Tania Luna does.
4. Stop checking your email incessantly.-sift via mobile . Have a concerted email session once a day then prior to leaving school .
Most of us habitually
check our email on an unstructured basis. That is, we look whenever we feel
like it. This turns into a problem because emails can sap time that is better
spent elsewhere. Get off the email train by making it a point to only check
emails at specific points during your day. For instance, you may want to check
yours at lunchtime, and then again in the evening.
Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Work Week, recommends
picking two specific times each day for maximum productivity.
5. Stop doing everything yourself.
Sure, it can be
thrilling to tell everyone that you are “doing it all,” but there’s no reason
to try and be superhuman. Eventually, you’ll fail – miserably – without help.
If delegating is tough for you, just remind yourself that the old adage “many
hands make lighter work” holds true in all aspects of life.
Need a little
help? Buy or borrow the Harvard Business School Press bookHidden
Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People.
In it, author Charles O’Reilly gives tips on how
to begin the process if you’re uncomfortable with or unaccustomed to
delegation.
Reach out and get the
assistance you need; in fact, you may want to start looking at areas where
others can do the tasks you’re doing now. Free up your time to work on other
things, and start really being productive.
6. Stop trying to be perfect.
Let’s get this on the
table right now: You’re not perfect and you shouldn’t try to be. A research study published by University Affairs illustrates
this point. The study showed that professors who were perfectionists had lower
productivity levels than those who accepted the fact that they were only human.
The moral of the story is that, on most occasions, being good is good enough.
Besides, Google has had incredible success fostering leaders who
weren’t top students from universities. That says
something.
7. Stop being busy all the time.
A Harvard study and
scientific evidence has shown that spending downtime- Raglan by oneself is more
important than we might have otherwise thought. Dubbed “The Power of Lonely” by a Boston Globe writer,
the principle suggests that people have stronger memories of moments they spend
by themselves. In other words, it’s time for a little introspection to get to
the heart of who you honestly are, as well as what you want to do “when you
grow up.”
When Brigid Schulte
slowed down, she found the time to pen Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time.
Schulte shows how doing less can be freeing, and recommends this to anyone who
truly wants to be a success.
#8. Stop saying “I can’t.”
Want to kick a habit
or keep yourself from overeating? Don’t tell yourself “I can’t,” because it
just sets you up for failure. Instead, replace “I can’t” with “I don’t.” For
example, those who say they “don’t” do something actually do it in half the
cases of those who say, “I can’t.” If you want to give up smoking, tell
yourself you “don’t” smoke rather than you “can’t” smoke; you’ll find that you
have a better chance of quitting.
Exercise guru Joe
English talks about the power of “I can” in this
blog poston Running Advice. While Joe’s discussion of “I can”
applies mainly to exercise and working out, he touches on some universal
strategies all of us can use to be more productive. Rather than thinking, “I
can’t do this” or “I don’t know if I can do this,” Joe says he thinks to
himself, “You can and you will.” Changing the way you think about the obstacles
in front of you can have a huge impact on your daily productivity.
9. Stop multitasking.
It seems like
multitasking is embraced in our culture as a “given,” but it isn’t exactly
efficient. Researchers examined the skills of multitaskers and were shocked
to discover that they didn’t do well on any of the tasks to which they were
assigned. Focus on single tasks,- a challenge in school environment when we must be available for supporting teachers. and leave the multitasking to those who
haven’t read this article yet. You’ll be in good company – theCBS
Evening News started discouraging multitasking in their offices and
had fascinating results.
10. Stop being so negative.
Are you someone for
whom the glass is always half-empty… or just empty? While a little negativity
can be understandable, a lot of it will only cramp your style and keep you from
achieving your goals. According to scientists from Japan, when we think
negative thoughts, we color our world with pessimism and make it harder to attain success.
So start looking at
the glass a different way and enjoy your newfound outlook on life, business and
everything under the sun.As sales guru Zig Ziglar said: “Winners
evaluate themselves in a positive manner and look for their strengths as they work
to overcome weaknesses.”
As you can see, being
productive means “stopping.” If that’s tough for you to do, just practice.
Changing behaviors takes time. However, doing something for about 21 days
usually makes it easier to continue with the routine. Make this day one, and in
three weeks your productivity level should be much higher.
