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May 4 - May 8, 2020
6. Track your progress.
7. Adjust your time limits.
“Worrying about the past or the future isn't productive. When you start chastising yourself for past mistakes, or seeing disaster around every corner, stop and take a breath and ask yourself what you can do right now to succeed.”
Regret is normal since mistakes are a part of life. It can even be beneficial if it’s experienced in the context of introspection. Self-analysis helps us to learn more about ourselves and make positive changes that lead to better outcomes.
Having said that, brooding over your mistakes, overthinking them to the point of despair, is unhealthy. It can hobble your ability to work productively in four ways.
First, it’s easy to become consumed by your...
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Second, the more you obsess about your mistakes, the less likely you...
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Third, mental self-flagellation will eventually affect your health.
The fourth way kicking yourself for past failures impedes your productivity is that it causes you to miss out on opportunities.
Action Steps
1. Embrace failures as learning opportunities.
2. Look for opportunities to improve your workflow.
3. Acknowledge your role in making the mistake.
4. Reevaluate your expectations.
5. Reevaluate your goals.
6. Avoid television.
7. Talk to a peer, mentor or accountability partner.
“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.”
Yielding to others’ demands for your time and attention lessens your productivity in five ways.
First, it disrupts your work flow.
Second, it allows other people to dictate how you spend your time.
Third, saying “yes” gives you less time to address your own responsibilities.
Fourth, it reduces the quality of your work.
Fifth, you risk suffering from burnout.
Action Steps
1. Evaluate your progress regarding the tasks on your to-do list before offering to help other people.
2. Remind yourself that few requests are truly emergencies.
3. Ask whether you can help the person later.
4. Find out what you’re being asked to commit yourself to.
5. Decide in advance the activities you won’t help others with.
6. Practice saying “no,” even if you have the time to help the other person.
7. Work in time blocks.
persistent overtime makes you less productive in four ways.
First, it sets the stage for health issues.
Second, it can raise your stress levels.
Third, working too many hours opens the door to burnout.
The fourth way overtime can harm your productivity is that it causes you to produce a lower quality of work.
Action Steps
1. Make sure your to-do list is reasonable given the amount of time you have available.
2. Plan to log five productive hours at most during any given eight-hour day.
3. Be willing to leave unfinished tasks on your desk.
4. Schedule breaks.
5. Commit to finishing the workday at a specific time.
It’s important that we highlight some of the ways doing everything on your own inhibits your productivity.
First, being a control freak siphons away time and resources from your other responsibilities.
Second, you’re less focused on your long-term goals.
Third, the quality of your work will decline.
The fourth effect of being a control freak impacts those who report to you: your employees, vendors and contractors. Micromanaging their tasks and responsibilities shows them you have little faith in their skills and competence. That breeds mistrust and resentment, both of which damage your team’s morale.
Action Steps
1. Identify your reasons for wanting to maintain control.
