Science Has
It: You Should Stop Doing These 10 Things To Be More Productive
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/science-stop-10-things-productive.html
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.
2. Stop checking your social media
accounts every hour!
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.
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.
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 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, 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.
