There are hundreds of tips on productivity that we probably all have heard at some point. When it really comes down to it though, how do we separate the totally unnecessary from the actually accurate?
In all reality, there are a lot of different tricks we can utilize to be more productive– and not all of them work for every single person. And some things that might seem counter productive for one person, might be a pivotal moment for another. Let’s dive into “7 Things People Think are Terrible for Productivity that Actually Aren’t,” written by Shanna Lebowitz for Entrepreneur.com.
- “Wake up after the sun” A lot of early risers will tell you that the wee hours in the morning are the best, most productive time to work. But that doesn’t work for everyone. Take it from us. We’ve seen people who can wake up at 5 am and get eight things done before 9 am and we’ve seen those who prefer the evening as their productive time frame. Either way, you have to do what works best for YOU, not what other people tell you is best.
- “Not emptying your email inbox” Hey, I love a good, organized inbox as much as the next person, but emptying out the emails first thing isn’t always the most important thing. If managing your time means not wasting precious minutes organizing your emails, then by all means, leave that off the to do list! Spend your time doing what works for you.
- “Working shorter hours than your coworkers” If you can get all of your work done- and do it well- in less than 8 hours, don’t let guilt stop you from leaving. Work efficiently and get your shit done in the time it takes you. If that means leaving work at 5 instead of 6:30, then so be it! If that means taking some extra time to get things done, don’t get discouraged by others leaving before you. At the end of the day, we all work at different speeds. What matters is getting things done right.
- “Keeping a messy workspace” Maybe you’re type A and everything has an exact place to live. Or maybe you’re a little less structured and things just sort of exist wherever they need to. Sometimes we are more productive in those messy environments. When things get a little disorderly, we automatically seek order– which means we want to create clear goals and complete them. Use this to your advantage and optimize your productivity.
- “Leaving unfinished items on your to do list” Sometimes we just need to get the ball rolling on certain projects. Most of the time, we don’t finish that to do list anyway. It’s there to serve as a guide for us to structure ourselves. Simply writing your objectives out will help you find the way to actually work to achieve them.
- “Feeling stressed” Stress isn’t always a bad thing. It can be a real motivator at times. A little stress can go a long way in kicking our asses into gear. Typically stress is an indicator that you care about the outcome. Use that to drive you to finishing what needs to get done.
- “Procrastinating” Okay, this one hits a little close to home. Some of us are planners– they finish things long before they are due. Others procrastinate working on something till the last minute. We’ve all been there at some point, right? You let your time slip away and then crunch time hit and you busted out the best piece of work ever. That last minute drive can really help pull out really quality work. Think about it this way: if you are procrastinating with Facebook scrolling or Netflix watching, then yeah, that’s not very productive at all. But if you are procrastinating one project in the hopes of perfecting it, then that’s actually better in the long run.
What do you all think? Is productivity so cut and dry or is it more fluid?
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