We all wish to be more productive, especially in the workplace, and yet, most of us are doing things that get in the way of our ability to efficiently work. A quick self-inventory will help you discover if you currently have any of these productivity-killing habits. Once you have identified your productivity-killing habits, you can learn how to avoid them.

You have an inefficient morning routine. If you take into account that humans can only get a limited capacity each day to make effective decisions, it’s clear that reducing the amount of energy you use up early on in the day leaves you more time and energy for critical or creative tasks later. So, devise a routine in the morning and also during your most stressful times to help you get into the habit of using your time better. Try these ideas to get your morning routine down: get up at the same time each morning, find a breakfast and/or lunch you can prepare in advance to reduce morning stress, and set the day’s clothes out the night before.

You are not doing high priority tasks in the morning. Some people start off the work day by knocking out benign tasks in order to get into the groove of their workflow, saving the more challenging tasks for later. This creates two problems. One, other “emergencies” and demands can end up pulling you away from the high priority task you planned to accomplish later on in the day. Two, research has indicated that humans have a limited amount of willpower that diminishes throughout the day, making it more difficult to complete undesirable or difficult tasks as the day wears on. Mark Twain is attributed with saying, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning.” Get the hardest thing over with first when you have the most energy, capacity, and focus to offer.

You are still multitasking. If you truly want your productivity to increase, you have got to stop multitasking. Even if you can manage to get two things done, both will suffer in quality and the completion time will be longer. Our brains are wired to perform most optimally when focussed on a single task at a time. If you want to test this, try writing down the alphabet backwards while singing the Happy Birthday song. See? Learn to redirect yourself when you become distracted or when others attempt to steer you off course. Mentally encourage yourself to slow down and go back to Task A when you have gotten sidetracked from tasks A to B to C to D. Take breathing or walking breaks throughout the day to re-focus your mind. Politely decline interruptions from others (avoid saying yes to “Hey, do you have a minute?”) and let the phone go to voicemail so that you can respond when you are ready to shift focus.

You check your phone and email all throughout the day. This is undoubtedly the most prevalent productivity-killing habit. Many highly efficient people have shifted to an email schedule, checking email only at several specific points during the day. Be aware that attending to email early in the day can hijack your plan and daily goals, as you can get sucked into dealing with other people’s high priority tasks. It’s best to accomplish your must-do items for the day first, and then see what others need from you in email. Setting up filters in your email system can help you prioritise specific senders that necessitate a quick response. Keep your cell phone in your bag or drawer to resist the temptation to check on the latest news or social media updates.

Your thoughts are sabotaging you. See if any of these apply to you: you have a tendency for perfectionism and the need to always be the best. You often see your mistakes as failures. You compare yourself to others and feel less-than. You focus on the errors in your day rather than your successes or positive efforts. You crumple under criticism or feedback, fearing that if any flaws are exposed, you will be rejected. These categories of thought often lead to inaction due to a fear of not being perfect or not producing perfect work. Productivity suffers because enormous amounts of time get spent on double checking each task or procrastination sets in due to the fear of making mistakes. Negative thoughts and feelings about ourselves are incredibly draining and unmotivating, which certainly has a negative impact on productivity. The best gift you can offer yourself is creating positive thought habits: focus on the progress you are making, recognise what you did well, and know what you can carry forward from the mistakes that you do make.

Long-term success comes from productive and healthy habits. Consider where you can make some adjustments and start small with achievable changes in order to eliminate those habits that are destroying your progress.

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